


The finishing line

by rokeat



Series: A long race [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: Blam, M/M, Romance, Wedding, past-klaine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-13
Updated: 2015-06-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 18:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 44,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3739141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rokeat/pseuds/rokeat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 3 of the "A long race" universe: Sam and Blaine's big day is just around the corner, and they know it's going to be the greatest wedding ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back! As promised, here's the thir part for my A long race universe, now with more sugar! Enjoy it!

Sam loudly yawned as he tried to keep his eyes open for a while longer, even if lying down on his comfortable couch was not helping. It was really late –yeah, okay, it was Saturday and he didn’t need to wake up early the day after, but he was tired, okay?– and nothing was catching his attention as he flipped through the channels on his TV. He knew the reasonable thing would be to go to bed. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He hadn’t been able to go to bed before Blaine made it home safe and sound during all the months he had been working on his show. Not once. And even if he knew Blaine would never reproach him or resent him for it, he knew how much his fiancé loved it when he came home, tired and spent, and Sam would be waiting for him with open arms ready to engulf him and wrap him in all their warmth. And if only for the tender smile Blaine would always give him, full of love and devotion as he melted into his arms, it was well worth it.

As if reading his mind, Blaine took that exact moment to appear. Sam looked at his watch as he heard his boyfriend at the other side of the door, and noticed it was really late, even more than usual even for a Saturday –with a double feature–. If he didn’t know a car from the company always took everyone to their door on Saturdays, he might have worried something had happened to him. That car bringing him home was the only reason he was not picking him up himself every Saturday, he thought with a smile, shaking his head at himself about how much of a worrier he was.

“Hey, love” Blaine said with his unique Sam-smile as soon as he crossed the threshold to their shared home. “You’re still up”

“Of course I’m up, I was waiting for you” Sam answered, reciprocating his smile as Blaine left his thin cardigan on the rack next to the door.

“You shouldn’t have bothered” Blaine reminded him, his voice full of gratitude as he let himself practically fall on top of his boyfriend on the narrow couch and nestled against his chest with a contented sigh.

“And miss this? I don’t think so” Sam honestly replied as he put his arms around Blaine’s smaller frame and squeezed him strongly. “Hey, where’s my kiss?”

“Sorry” Blaine answered with a chuckle as he lifted his face for a minute, give Sam’s lips a long peck, and lowered it again on the crook of his neck, clearly exhausted.

“You look tired” Sam commented, his hand immediately finding his way to Blaine’s long curls –he had been growing his hair a little longer than usual because it agreed with his character, but Sam thought he looked even more incredibly gorgeous than usual and made a point with himself to not let him cut it when the show was over.

“That’s what a double feature will do to you” Blaine answered, deliciously tickling Sam’s neck with his breath as he spoke.

“How was it tonight?” Sam asked, knowing Blaine would inevitably fall asleep if not made to talk, and he wasn’t ready to lose him yet.

“It was amazing” Blaine answered, lifting his head to look at Sam again, and Sam thought he could get lost in the excitement and happiness he could see in Blaine’s eyes. “We had the longest round of applause of the whole season, that’s why I’m so late”

“I bet most of those applauses were directed at you” Sam answered, only half joking, because he had seen the show more than a few times and he had been a witness of how Blaine inadvertently stole everyone’s thunder as soon as he came on stage.

“Yeah, sure, everyone came just to see me” Blaine sarcastically answered, resting both his hands, one over the other, on Sam’s chest so he could lean his chin on them and look at his boyfriend at the same time.

“Don’t give me the _I’m the most unkown actor on Broadway_ speech again, both you and I know you’ve signed more than a couple of autographs after your performances” Sam liked to remind him of that fact, as he had seen it happen with his own eyes more than once while waiting for his boyfriend, feeling incredibly proud of him.

“Yeah, from people who wanted all the cast to sign their programs” Blaine argued with a roll of his eyes, but Sam cupped his cheek and forced him to look back at him.

“Excuse me, but those two young ladies a couple of weeks ago were waiting specifically for you and you know it”

“Well, ok, I have two fans, big deal” Blaine replied with a chuckle.

“Excuse me? What about me?” Sam asked, feigned to be deeply offended.

“Ok, three”

“That’s better”

“Well, thanks, honey” Blaine honestly said as he stretched his neck for a second to kiss Sam’s sweet lips gratefully. “I can’t believe it’s almost over, though. Only one more week to go and then it’s over”

“Are you sad about it?” Sam asked as his fingers idly played with a curl on Blaine’s forehead.

“I am, but at the same time I can’t wait” Blaine explained with a dreamy and mischievous smile. “Because once it’s over I’ll be marrying you, so…”

“Awww” Sam exclaimed, trying not to show how incredibly emotional it got him to think of what was going to happen in less than two weeks. “Are you as anxious about it as I am?”

“I don’t know, how anxious are you about it?”

“Enough that I can hardly eat or sleep or keep a smile out of my face when I think about it” Sam answered in complete honesty.

“Then yes, I’m as anxious as you are” Blaine agreed with a wide smile.

“I was fearing that” Sam added, reciprocating Blaine’s smile.

“Doesn’t it feel strange? In two weeks everything will be exactly the same: we will live in the same place, we will have the same jobs and friends and we will be the same people but… we’ll be married”

“Actually… I was thinking about some changes” Sam confessed tentatively, not knowing how Blaine was going to react to something that he had been thinking about for a few days.

“As long as you don’t exchange me for someone else…” Blaine joked, trying to lighten the mood as he could sense Sam had something important to say and he wanted him to relax.

“Not when you’ll finally be officially an Evans!” Sam answered with a laugh, glad for the light mood. “No, I was thinking about something else”

“Mind to share?” Blaine encouraged him to continue.

“What would you say if I told you I think it’s time for me to leave my job as an illustrator?”

“I’d say you are right” Blaine immediately agreed while nodding his head.

“After the fourth number of my comic book being a complete success and they offering another year of contract and such a pay rise…” Sam explained, though Blaine obviously didn’t need him to.

“Sweetie, I agree” Blaine interrupted him gently while the tips of his fingers started tracing comforting patterns on his boyfriend’s chest. “This is the job of your dreams! Fortunately we don’t need the money anymore, so what’s the sense in you working overtime? You need to focus all your energy on your author work. It makes no sense to have the job of your dreams if you don’t have the time and the energy to enjoy it”

“So you don’t think I’m being selfish?” Sam asked, even if he already knew the answer his understanding partner was going to give him.

“Selfish how? Sam, we are making more money than we could have ever dreamt! Especially you now with the new contract, how could I ever reproach you for that? In fact, I might be the selfish one here, as I love that you will have more time… and hopefully some of it will be for me” Blaine said with a smile, although Sam could see through it and knew he was only half joking. He knew he had been working a lot lately and Blaine had missed him more than a little, even if he had never complained because he knew Sam was making his dreams come true.

“Well, of course, why would I want more time if it wasn’t to spend it with you?” Sam answered, as tenderly as he could muster in gratitude for Blaine’s constant support, and he cupped Blaine’s cheek to bring their faces closer and capture his lips in a long kiss before continuing opening his heart to him. “Although I’ve been thinking about painting again too, you know? I was pretty good at college, I don’t know why I ever stopped. I kinda miss it”

“You’re like a Renaissance artist, aren’t you?” Blaine said with utter admiration as he toyed with Sam’s long locks.

“Oh, you want to talk, Mr. there-is-nothing-I-can’t-do” Sam retorted with a chuckle as he squeezed Blaine’s middle, where his arm was comfortably resting. “Don’t even think I don’t know you’ve been writing music again”

“How do you…? You were not supposed to know that!” Blaine protested with a pout that immediately elicited a hearty laugh from his fiancé.

“Then you should keep your music sheets in a better place than just scattered around the apartment!” Sam defended himself while trying not to laugh at Blaine’s indignant expression. “And stop humming the melodies whenever you’re distracted”

“Yeah, I am a bit careless when I get in one of my creative moods” Blaine admitted with a frown.

“Are you planning on doing something with that?” Sam curiously asked. He knew Blaine was usually quite a fidget and as soon as he had settled down in his job and he didn’t need to worry about it he had gotten restless and needed something else to invest his time and talent in. What he didn’t know was if that something –his music writing– was just a pastime or something more serious.

“Well, Alex has this friend who has a friend who is a musical producer and he wants me to record a demo to show it to him” Blaine explained with a shrug of his shoulders, as if it wasn’t that big a deal. “Alex thinks I’m good and that I may have a chance. But I don’t know, I think he’s just so grateful I introduced him to Sebastian that he doesn’t know how to thank me… Or maybe Sebastian forced him to, and you know how Alex can’t say no to him…”

“But that’s amazing! Why didn’t you tell me anything?”

“Because I wanted it to be a surprise if it went well. After all, that demo is a song for you”

“For me?” Sam asked without being able to stop a little smile from breaking into his lips.

“Of course” Blaine answered with a snort, as if it was the most stupid question he had ever heard. “Who else would I be writing and singing about?”

“I don’t know… Chris Hemsworth, maybe?” Sam joked.

“Yeah, alright, him too” Blaine agreed after feigning to weight the alternative for a couple of seconds.

“Hey!” Sam mockingly protested, as his hand left his position on Blaine’s waist to playfully slap his rear.

“Hey, you mentioned him! And besides, you know I like him because he looks so much like you!”

“Yeah, right, we are as like as two peas”

“You’re right, you’re so much hotter than he is” Blaine added in a seductive voice as he moved to kiss Sam’s lips in a deeper way than before.

“Aren’t you the sweetest thing?” Sam exclaimed against his boyfriend’s lips, his hands moving all along the shorter boy’s body as if he wanted to memorize every inch of it.

“Is that why you are marrying me in two weeks?” Blaine asked in a flirty tone.

“Of course. I need my daily dose of ego boost” Sam answered, trying to avoid Blaine’s playful slap to his chest to no avail.

“That’s all you want me for?” Blaine asked, pretending to be terribly offended.

“Of course not! You also cook pretty well” Sam replied, and this time he didn’t even try to stop Blaine’s slap.

“I hate you!” Blaine exclaimed between laughs that clearly belied his words.

“And what if I tell you I want to marry you because you’re beautiful, talented, kindhearted, loving and amazingly awesome?” Sam offered as a truce.

“I would say you forgot to say ‘perfect’” Blaine cockily replied.

“Oh, of course, my mistake. You’re perfect”

“Then I would marry you”

“Glad we reached an agreement” Sam added with a smile just before giving Blaine’s lips a quick peck. “Besides, everything is paid by now, it would be a shame for it to go to waste”

“It would be” Blaine agreed, resting his chin on Sam’s chest again so he could still look at him while being more comfortable. “And Cooper would be so disappointed at the lost chance to be the star at the wedding…”

“I still can’t believe that being your best man wasn’t good enough for him” Sam said while fondly shaking his head at his brother-in-law’s antics.

“Well, you know him, he needs to be the center of attention, and being a best man in a wedding where there is another best man was not exclusive enough”

“Thank God our final best men are not that demanding”

“No, they’re great” Blaine smiled contently. “Hey, remember when I asked Sebastian to be my best man? I think it was two days after _Les miserables_ opening”

 

_Sebastian was waiting on their usual cafe for the coffee date he had promised Blaine the day before. He was trying to get ready for the third degree he knew he was about to get, but he couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed by it. He knew Blaine was not trying to be a gossip –well, maybe a little, but it was not just that–, but genuinely caring about him and wanting to be happy for him. And considering it had been him the one to introduce him to Alex, he really couldn’t deny him a little bit of information, right? And okay, who was he trying to fool? He was so happy he really needed to share it with someone, and obviously Blaine would be his first option._

_“Hands up, this is a robbery” a voice behind him and a finger in the middle of his back made him jump on his seat, though the familiar laughter that immediately came after quickly made him realize he was far from danger._

_“Shit, Blaine, don’t scare me like that!” Sebastian admonished him, trying to sound serious even if he could feel a smile breaking in the corner of his mouth._

_“Aren’t we jumpy today?” Blaine said with a chuckle as he sat in front of his friend. “Maybe it’s because… you didn’t had much sleep last night either?”_

_“Nice way of asking me if I spent the night with Alex two nights in a row” Sebastian sarcastically replied as he handed Blaine the beverage he had already ordered for him._

_“And did you?”_

_“No. We said goodbye after lunch”_

_“So let me see” Blaine said, feigning to think thoroughly about it. “After the show you two had dinner, breakfast and lunch together”_

_“Actually… only lunch, we… skipped the rest” Sebastian confessed, blushing slightly._

_“Oh my God, start talking right now” Blaine insisted, practically jumping on his chair with excitement, which elicited a fond smile on his friend in spite of everything._

_“Well, as you know we left your party together. By the way, I’m sorry I left, I need to tell you again, I was so selfish but…” Sebastian tried to apologize, but Blaine didn’t even want to hear about it._

_“Stop it”_

_“What?”_

_“Do I look angry to you?”_

_“No” Sebastian admitted with a relieved smile._

_“Then stop apologizing and continue, please. I want to know all the details” Blaine eagerly encouraged his friend to continue._

_“We clicked instantly. So we had a walk and then we had a drink and then he asked me to go to his apartment” Sebastian explained._

_“Wow, you’re faster than the Flash, aren’t you?” Blaine joked with a wink that Sebastian chose to ignore._

_“Nothing happened, I already told you” Sebastian patiently reminded him. “We just… kept talking and talking all night. We didn’t even get any sleep. Turns out he is the most interesting guy I’ve ever met. No offense” he hurried to add once he realized what he had just said._

_“None taken” Blaine reassured him with a chuckle._

_“He must have thought that about me too, because we couldn’t seem to stop talking” Sebastian continued, blushing more and more by the minute. “Like we wanted to know everything about each other, you know? Then in the morning we weren’t ready to say goodbye yet, so we watched a movie, we had an early lunch and I finally went home. I didn’t want to spoil it too soon, you know?”_

_“Did you two kiss?” Blaine shamelessly asked._

_“I’m not one of those who kiss and tell, you know” Sebastian joked._

_“So that’s a yes” Blaine insisted with his widest smile._

_“It… might be a yes” Sebastian answered enigmatically._

_“Seb, that’s amazing” Blaine said, this time with no trace of joking in his voice, as he covered Sebastian’s hand with his own across the table. “If you could see your expression as you talked about him… I think it’s serious”_

_“I’m afraid it could be” Sebastian agreed with an embarrassed smile._

_“So when are you seeing him again?”_

_“I don’t know” Sebastian admitted with a little frown, implicitly asking his friend for advice. “We exchanged numbers and I’m dying to call him, but… I don’t want to seem too eager and scare him away”_

_“Seb, he spent a sleepless night just to know every single fact about you” Blaine kindly reminded him. “You really think he’s not dying for you to call him?”_

_“You think so?”_

_“Of course I do, Seb! You two had an instant connection! That doesn’t happen often, you know”_

_“You saw him yesterday at the show, right? Did he say something?” Sebastian asked, and Blaine was both glad and amazed at how deep he seemed to have fallen for Alex._

_“I didn’t talk to him, because I didn’t want to say or hear anything before I had talked to you” Blaine honestly explained. “But I saw him, and I hadn’t seen that dreamy smile on his face before, let me tell you that”_

_“So you think I should call him?” Sebastian insisted, desperate for some guidance so he wouldn’t screw it up. After all, he had never been in a really serious relationship, while Blaine was the master of that._

_“Yes, Seb, of course I think you should call him!” Blaine happily exclaimed. “Screw everything, for all we know this could be the love of your life!”_

_“God, you’re right” Sebastian admitted, bringing his hands to rub his face for a second as he tried to make a decision. “I’ll call him right away, do you mind?”_

_“No, go ahead” Blaine gave him his permission, though he smiled as Sebastian wasn’t waiting for it and already had the phone glued to his ear._

_“He’s not picking up” Sebastian explained as he impatiently waited._

_“I’m sure he’s just busy” Blaine tried to calm him down._

_“Maybe he doesn’t want anything to do with me” Sebastian lamented, hitting the red button on his phone._

_“Yeah, right, I usually talk all night with boys I have absolutely no interest in” Blaine sarcastically replied._

_“You’re so funny” Sebastian protested before being interrupted by a beep. “Oh, he sent a text”_

_“What does he say?” Blaine asked, almost more excited than Sebastian himself._

_“He says he can’t talk right now, because he’s busy. He has two jobs, you know. He is also a violin private tutor, so he must be giving a class right now”_

_“Oh. Does he say anything else?”_

_“That we can talk in person while having dinner tonight after the show, if I want to” Sebastian explained while a huge grin broke inevitably on his lips._

_“Oh my God, Seb, you’re so screwed” Blaine said with a laugh at his friend’s dreamy expression._

_“I know, right? Let me just answer him and I’m all yours”_

_“Take your time”_

_“That’s it” Sebastian said after a minute and put his phone down on the table, feeling a little guilty that he was neglecting his friend_ – _again_ – _, even if said friend was the sweetest thing ever and didn’t seem bothered at all._

_“I’m so happy for you, Seb” Blaine honestly told him._

_“Well, none of this would be happening if it wasn’t for you” Sebastian answered gratefully. “I’ll never thank you enough for this”_

_“Well, I’ve got plenty of things to be grateful to you too, so let’s call it even” Blaine answered, only half joking. “I’m just glad everything seems to be working out”_

_“You look very happy indeed” Sebastian said, looking inquisitively at him as if trying to see through him._

_“I am, Seb, for you” Blaine quickly answered._

_“No, but there is something else, I can tell” Sebastian added confidently. “What is it?”_

_“Nothing” Blaine denied in a heartbeat, making it all the more obvious that he was indeed lying._

_“You’ve got something to say too”_

_“No, I don’t”_

_“Blaine, I know you. What is it?” Sebastian insisted._

_“No, I didn’t want to say anything today” Blaine protested with a pout. “Today is just about you”_

_“If you aren’t the sweetest thing ever…” Sebastian said with a fond chuckle. “But I already told you everything and now I want to know about your news. Let me be happy for you too”_

_“Ok” Blaine surrendered with a sigh. “Sam and are getting married”_

_“I think I already knew that” Sebastian answered with a confused smile._

_“No, but I mean for real” Blaine added, biting his bottom lip to stop his smile from spreading any further, so happy he felt. “We picked a date and everything”_

_“Oh. Oh!” Sebastian exclaimed when he understood the importance of the news. “So when?”_

_“On July 25 th”_

_“Which year?”_

_“This year!” Blaine answered with a hearty laugh at Sebastian’s confusion._

_“Really? So soon?” Sebastian asked, equally surprised and excited._

_“Yeah”_

_“I thought you were going to wait”_

_“Yeah, that was the original plan but…”_

_“What’s the point in waiting, right?” Sebastian finished the sentence for him, as he perfectly understood his friend: why wait for something they were both so sure of?_

_“Exactly” Blaine agreed, happy that Sebastian seemed on board with the idea. After all, he was the first person outside both his and Sam’s families to know, and he cared very much about his opinion._

_“I’m very happy for you, Killer” Sebastian said, this time being his turn to enjoy his friend’s obvious happiness._

_“And I’m happy for you, because I’ve got the feeling you already know who your plus one will be”_

_“Hahaha, very funny”_

_“Although I really hope he can spare you for your duties on the wedding” Blaine added, kind of cryptically._

_“My duties?” Sebastian asked in surprise._

_“I was kind of hoping you’d want to be my best man” Blaine asked with a shrug of his shoulders, suddenly feeling a little shy._

_“Me? Really?” Sebastian asked, not being able to decide if he should feel surprised or flattered at the request._

_“Yes, of course, you’re my best friend” Blaine explained, amused at how moved Sebastian looked at the prospect of being his best man. “Who else would I want as my best man? Sam was supposed to be my best man when I was younger but… let’s say his role in the wedding changed a little”_

_“Still… I thought maybe Cooper…”_

_“Oh, Cooper wanted to be my best man so he could have a leading role in the wedding, but as soon as he found out people could get ordained in the Internet and officiate weddings, let’s say he found the role of his life”_

_“Your brother is really something else” Sebastian commented while trying not to laugh. “And you agree with that?”_

_“I think it’s a great idea, so that way I can have both him and you taking part of the most important day of my life” Blaine explained with a smile. “So will you be my best man?”_

_“Of course I will be your best man, Blaine” Sebastian answered, not being able to hide how moved he was when his eyes started getting glassy. “It will be the greatest honor”_

_“You’re not going to start crying on me, right?” Blaine joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere in his friend’s benefit._

_“I might do” Sebastian confessed with a shaky smile, though he made a good job of keeping his tears at bay._

_“I love you, Seb” Blaine said with a sweet smile as Sebastian took his hand in his._

_“I love you too, Killer” Sebastian answered, and he was proud of himself when his voice only shook slightly._

_“Cooper might call you one of these days, by the way” Blaine said, changing the subject to give his friend the chance to compose himself. “If he does, ignore him”_

_“Why would he call me?” Sebastian asked with a confused frown._

_“Well, there is only one thing he regrets about not being my best man and that is giving the speech, so I’m afraid he will call you to explain all kind of embarrassing anecdotes about my childhood and teen years to you so you can incorporate them in your speech”_

_“Oh, maybe I won’t ignore him then”_

_“Sebastian” Blaine warned him, trying to sound threatening._

_“Uh, you’re using my whole name, you are serious” Sebastian joked, and then laughed along his friend when he couldn’t keep his menacing pretence anymore._

“He was so moved when I asked him…” Blaine explained with a fond smile. “Though he had just met Alex and spent their first sleepless night just talking to each other the day before. Maybe he was just emotional and drunk on love that day”

“Not like Puck” Sam complained with a chuckle as he played with the curls on Blaine’s forehead. “Puck was just his usual I-don’t-give-a-damn self when I asked him to be my best man”

 

_Sam looked fondly at Puck as his friend devoured his burger in front of him. It was one of those nights that Sam felt too restless to wait for Blaine at home as he finished his show. He usually called Puck on those occasions and he would always agree to meet him and wait with him if he didn’t have to work. And that was why they were having a quick dinner near the theatre, so that way they could spend some quality time together while waiting for Blaine._

_Sam was grateful for those moments with his friend. They had been good pals on high school, though never too close as Puck was… well, very_ Puck _back then. But the years had really agreed with him, and Sam was surprised and glad to find how much he had matured and the good man he had become, someone he was proud to call his friend. Someone who always listened and sometimes even would have good advice to offer. And someone who didn’t mind just hanging around while waiting for his bro’s partner. And Sam knew the perfect way to thank him for everything he had done for him and Blaine in the last months._

_“Hey, dude, I’ve got news” Sam announced, all of a sudden._

_“What’s up?” Puck asked with a full mouth._

_“Blaine and I got a date for our wedding” Sam plainly explained. “We’re marrying in July”_

_“That’s cool, man” Puck answered with a little smile._

_“Hey, will you be my best man?”_

_“Really? Me?”_

_“Yeah, why not? You’re my bro” Sam explained, trying to think of ways to lighten the mood when Puck would become helplessly emotional._

_“I am. Sure, I’ll do it. Hey, are you going to eat those fries?” Puck asked as he didn’t wait for an answer and stole some fries from Sam’s plate as the latter was left speechless._

“Hey, I’m sure he was also quite moved in his own way” Blaine tried to comfort his mockingly offended boyfriend. “He just doesn’t know how to show it”

“And I think you’d be surprised at how simple Puck really is” Sam explained with a laugh. “He’s just excited about the trip to Los Angeles, if you ask me”

“Can you believe we’re travelling there in a week?” Blaine excitedly asked, as he loved sunny California with all his heart. “It will be the third time we go there together, though the first time we’ll be going as a couple”

“I know” Sam agreed with a content sigh. “And the most special one, for sure”

Blaine reciprocated his smile as he thought about their trip. They were finally getting married in Los Angeles. It had been Cooper’s idea, but as soon as he explained his motives to them they had to agree. As they wanted an outdoors wedding, Cooper immediately thought about that little hill, just outside the city and next to the sea, where they had a picnic the first time Blaine had visited Cooper in Los Angeles with Sam, after less than a year living together in New York as roommates. Cooper had been surprised –pleasantly surprised– when Blaine had appeared with Sam instead of Kurt, but had excused him with some vague explanation about how busy he was at NYADA or something like that. –even if Cooper knew he just wasn’t that fond of him so as to cross all the country for visiting–. Cooper had only met Sam that time he had been at McKinley and given Blaine’s classmates a seminar on acting, so he really didn’t know him. But Blaine had told him so much about him that it was almost as they were already friends. And they had clicked immediately, so much more than he had ever done with Kurt. And the way he treated Blaine and how easy they got along… well, Cooper had silently wished Sam was not only his brother’s best friend.

One afternoon Cooper had taken them to that special place he loved, not that far from where he lived, knowing Blaine was going to love it just as much as soon as he felt the sun on his skin while being able to look at the sea. And he hadn’t been wrong: Blaine was mesmerized with the place, and had been silently sitting there for a while, overwhelmed with the beauty around him, when Sam had sat next to him, given him an incredibly sweet and fond and understanding smile, and put his arm around Blaine’s shoulders to silently look at the horizon with him. And when Blaine had let his head fall in Sam’s shoulder, letting his guard down as Cooper had seen him do so few times along his life, both of them completely forgetting about his presence just behind them, he had known someday those two would be together

“You’re happy with the place we’ve picked up for the wedding, right?” Blaine asked, still unsure if Sam was just accepting it for him. “You didn’t say yes just to make me happy, did you?”

“Blaine, there couldn’t be a better place for us to marry, believe me” Sam answered as he cupped Blaine’s cheek and brought his face closer so he could kiss his forehead in a loving gesture.

“What do you mean?”

“I guess I never told you about it, did I?”

“Tell me what?”

“You remember that time Stacey got so ill and you came with me to Kentucky to support me?” Sam asked.

“Yes, of course I remember. You were in no fit state to travel alone” Blaine answered as he reminisced about that time that felt like a lifetime ago.

“We were not together yet, and you were still with Kurt. In fact, you had to ditch Kurt for your anniversary to come with me, remember?”

“Well, yeah, but that was so much more important”

“Well, it surely meant the world to me” Sam answered with a smile full of tenderness and gratitude for the shorter boy. “But if I remember correctly, Kurt got so angry at you that he, once again, refused to go with you to Los Angeles two weeks later to visit your brother as you had planned, remember? Even if you had already booked both your tickets”

“Yeah” Blaine answered with a sad sigh. “He never wanted to visit my brother and I know he used my terrible offense as an excuse, but it still really hurt. Although it was made easier when you used his ticket and came with me instead again”

“Well, it was the least I could do after you had spent two weeks in Kentucky just for me”

“Sam, you were my best friend, and you were going through a terrible time. The rest of your family was as upset as you were, you needed someone from outside you could lean into” Blaine explained, as he had never believed it was such a big deal, but the right thing to do –apart from what his heart told him to do in that moment.

“You know not everybody would have put his life in stand-by for more than two weeks just for that, right?” Sam tried to make him see while caressing Blaine’s cheek with his knuckles.

“Well, then people are so fucked up” Blaine exclaimed.

“Well, yeah, maybe you’re right” Sam answered with a laugh. “Though I prefer to think you did it just because it was me”

“Well, obviously” Blaine agreed while rolling his eyes at the absurdity of it. “Even if we weren’t together yet, well… you were Sam!”

“Yeah, I understand that feeling so well” Sam answered, marveled at how they could understand each other so well even with close to no words. “But anyway… when Stacey was better, and you offered me that ticket to Los Angeles, I didn’t even hesitate, you know? I knew you were more hurt about Kurt standing you up than you wanted me to believe, so what could I do? It was the perfect chance to return the favor… and spend a nice holidays again with you on top of it!”

“But why does the hill mean so much to you too?” Blaine asked, lost at where Sam was going to with that story.

“Because… that hill will always remind me of you and one of the milestones in our story”

“How?”

“We had been there with your brother the other time we visited, but I remember how much you loved that place and how you wanted to take me there again” Sam started to explain. “We were just sitting there on that hill, I think Cooper was working on a advertisement or something so we were on our own that day. And even if I could feel you were kind of sad about Kurt’s selfish gesture, you wouldn’t admit it because you didn’t want me to feel guilty about it. You had just lost the final two weeks of a semester at NYADA, you had fought your boyfriend and you had paid for my holidays in Los Angeles, all for me, and yet there you were, only wanting me to feel good. And as you sat there, trying so hard to laugh at my jokes, looking so beautiful with your curls escaping from the gel helmet because of the sea breeze and the sun giving your eyes a million colors, I realized I was in love with you. Deeply and madly in love with you, and it was in that precise moment that I knew. And even if you were with Kurt at the moment, I remember how happy I felt at the feeling and how much sense it made for me. And as selfish as this might sound, by then you and Kurt were far from okay already, and… I was hoping one day I would stand a chance with you”

“Wow, Sam” Blaine exclaimed after being left speechless for a couple of minutes. “I didn’t know”

“So yeah, do you think that place is special enough for me too?” Sam joked, his heart about to burst with love for the beautiful boy in his arms and the devotion he could see so clearly in his golden eyes.

“I love you so much” Blaine said as an answer, his voice more than a little shaky with emotion.

“Well, that’s a good thing, considering we’re marrying in two weeks” Sam joked again, trying to lighten the mood in Blaine’s behalf.

“If I could marry you right now, I would so do it” Blaine insisted.

“We won’t have to wait much longer… and then it will be for the rest of our lives” Sam pointed out with a smile that was immediately reciprocated.

“I can’t wait for the rest of our lives to start” Blaine said in a dreamy voice as he finally rested his cheek again on Sam’s chest, nestling against his skin as if he just wanted for them to melt together.

“Sometimes I think I must have been really good in another life to end up with someone as sweet as you are” Sam honestly answered, strengthening his grip around his boyfriend and letting his fingers get lost in the tangle of curls that was the back of Blaine’s neck.

“mmmm” Blaine murmured sleepily as Sam’s fingers worked their way on his scalp.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, I’m not carrying you to bed” Sam warned his boyfriend, even if he couldn’t help a chuckle.

“You would just let your husband sleep on the sofa, cold and alone all night?” Blaine asked, his voice already slurred with sleep and tiredness.

“You’re not my husband yet” Sam reminded him.

“That’s so nice of you. And here I was thinking you would always take care of me” Blaine mockingly protested.

“All jokes aside, Blaine, you need to know I will always, ALWAYS, take care of you, because you’re what I love the most in the world, you know? I know I don’t tell you this a lot, but I need you to know you’re the one thing that gives sense to my existence, you know? And to know you want to share every moment with me, that you trust me with your life, just makes it all the more real, and I promise to…”

Sam’s beautiful speech was interrupted by a soft snore coming from his boyfriend, who apparently had fallen asleep on him like he had predicted.

“Oh my God, really? I was giving the speech of my life here!” Sam complained, though he was kind enough to do it in a whisper so as not to wake Blaine up –he knew how tired he was, and he was not completely heartless after all–. “Well, since you didn’t hear any of it I’ll use it for my vows, just so you know” Sam joked to himself before being interrupted again by another snore. “Don’t insist, I’m not carrying you to bed, I already told you”

Sam tried to move Blaine from him, knowing that as soon as he was up and looked at his impossibly cute boyfriend curling on himself as he slept, he would probably surrender and carry him to bed anyway. But as soon as he tried to disentangle himself from Blaine’s warm embrace, the latter loudly groaned in complaint and held onto him more strongly even if he hadn’t woken up.

“Guess we’ll have to sleep here then, right?” Sam asked with a chuckle as he picked up the blanket from the couch’s backrest and threw it over both of them. His neck would probably kill him in the morning, but he couldn’t care less as Blaine sighed in his sleep and snuggled even closer to him. “Nighty night, my dear husband-to-be” Sam whispered before he devotedly kissed Blaine’s forehead again and closed his eyes too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so what did you think? A wedding coming right up, though I might take my time getting to it (you know me!)! More soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay!

Blaine smiled tenderly at his boyfriend before ringing the bell to Sebastian’s apartment. Double dates with Sebastian and Alex had been quite frequent as the latters’ relationship progressed, but it was the first time they were going for a homemade dinner, which even if they weren’t living together yet, obviously, it just made it all the more real. And Blaine couldn’t be happier for his friend: he really deserved to be that happy.

“Hey” Blaine immediately greeted as Sebastian opened the door for them.

“Hey, Killer” Sebastian answered with his biggest smile while embracing his smaller friend and then turning to do the same with the latter’s boyfriend. “Sam”

“We brought this, we hope it goes well with whatever we’re having for dinner” Sam explained as he handed Sebastian a paper bag with a couple of bottles of wine they had bought for the special occasion.

“I’m sure it will, though I don’t know what we’ll be having for dinner” Sebastian answered as he ushered them inside. “Alex is cooking and he won’t even let me less than ten feet from the oven. He says I’m such a bad cook I could jinx it”

“Look, exactly like you!” Sam joked, turning to his boyfriend.

“You’re such a liar!” Blaine protested, feigning to be offended. “I’ve never forbidden you to cook, it’s you who won’t try under any circumstance!”

“Well, I did it on our first date, right?”

“Yeah, and that was probably the last time you did”

“But why would I, when we both know it’s going to be much more delicious if you cook?” Sam tried to reason with him as he stuck his lips out for a kiss that was denied to him with Blaine’s hand pushing them away.

“You’re not going to earn your way out of this with flattery, you moron” Blaine explained, trying to sound stern, although it only took a couple of seconds of Sam’s pouting for Blaine to surrender and finally give his lips a quick peck.

“Don’t you two ever stop?” Sebastian complained good-naturedly.

“No” Both Blaine and Sam answered at the same time, which elicited some hearty laughs as they looked ridiculously at each other.

“I should have known better” Sebastian commented, trying hard not to laugh himself at the silly couple.

“By the way, how sweet and nice it is that your boyfriend is so comfortable doing stuff around your apartment, like preparing dinner for _your_ friends?” Blaine commented with a mischievous smile as he nudged Sebastian knowingly. “Is there some news you’d like to share with us?”

“We’re not moving in together, if that’s what you’re implying” Sebastian answered with a smile, even if he sounded quite serious. “We’re very happy, but we’ve not been together even for four months yet, have some common sense, please!”

“Well, considering we were living together since our first kiss…” Sam added with a smirk.

“You were already roommates!” Sebastian protested.

“Such a minor detail” Sam added, chuckling at the mock outrage on his friend’s face.

“No, seriously. Everything is going great between us, but we’ve got to be sensible” Sebastian explained, more sincerely this time. “I don’t want to screw it this time. Don’t say anything about this in front of him and don’t get him any ideas, please”

“We’re just joking, Seb” Blaine answered conciliatory as he rested his hand on his friend’s forearm. “We would never do anything that could harm you or your relationship, you know that”

“Of course I know” Sebastian answered as he squeezed Blaine’s hand. “I just… have a lot of faith in this relationship. I want to do things right”

“I’m so glad to see you so happy. You really deserve it” Blaine commented as he gave his friend a quick hug.

“I know you are” Sebastian answered gratefully as he reciprocated the hug. “But enough about me, you’re the ones getting married in less than a week! Nervous?”

“More like… anxious” Sam answered looking at Blaine for confirmation, which he gave with a nod of his head.

“Everybody would be in your place” Alex added as he appeared from the kitchen. “I’m glad to see you, guys”

“Hey, Alex” Blaine greeted him as both he and Sam gave the guy a quick embrace. “Whatever you’re cooking smells delicious”

“Do you think this will go with it?” Sam asked as he pointed at the bad on Sebastian’s hands.

“It will go great!” Alex assured him with a grateful smile. “Why don’t you two sit down while Seb and I get everything ready?”

“Oh, now you’re going to let me help?” Sebastian joked as he drew his hand to the small of his boyfriend’s back to gently push him towards the kitchen.

“Only because it’s finished, I think I can trust you to serve it” Alex answered with a quick kiss to Sebastian’s cheek.

“Oh, thank you for your trust, mister” Sebastian’s sarcastic answer reached the other couple as they turned around the corner and disappeared towards the kitchen.

“They’re so made for each other” Blaine commented with a chuckle as he obeyed and took his seat next to his fiancé to wait for their dinner.

“You must know, you were the one that got them together in the first place” Sam reminded him, resting his arm on the back of Blaine’s chair so they could remain connected in some way.

“I only introduced them to each other, love and destiny did the rest”

“Aren’t you corny when you’re happy?”

“You love me anyway” Blaine answered confidently as he smiled at his boyfriend.

“That I do” Sam agreed as he captured his boyfriend’s lips in his and took his time to savor them until the other two made their way back and Sebastian playfully clobbered them around their heads to separate them.

**********

As expected, the dinner was wonderful and they had a lovely time chatting and joking around. After they finished, the four of them moved to the couch area and sat down, and it wasn’t long before Blaine was perching on Sam’s chest with the blond’s arm around his shoulder. In front of them, Alex and Sebastian sat while holding hands, and the four young men thought for a second that this was probably what happiness was about.

“I don’t think you’ve told me where your honeymoon is going to be, now that I think about it” Sebastian said.

“Oh, we don’t know” Sam answered with an enigmatic smile.

“You don’t?”

“It’s kind of my father’s wedding gift” Blaine hurried to explain. “He said it was a surprise. We only know we’ll be leaving directly from Los Angeles the day after the wedding and it will take quite a few days”

“Which is not a problem because I’ve been working twice as hard lately to have two numbers of the comic ready beforehand so I would have a whole month to devote myself to my lovely husband after the wedding” Sam explained.

“And that is why I love you so much” Blaine said, smiling devotedly at him as he snuggled closer to his chest in appreciation.

“But why are you leaving for Los Angeles tomorrow?” Alex asked. He had hung around the couple quite a lot through his relationship with Sebastian, and he happened to like them very much –especially when he remembered it was thanks to Blaine he and Sebastian were together, after all–. “You still have a few days until the wedding”

“Well, Sam is so lovely and he likes to spoil me so much that he thought it would be nice to spend a few days with my brother before everyone else arrived” Blaine explained with an adoring look at his boyfriend, who smiled gratefully at him.

“Well, you haven’t seen him in months and I know how much you miss him…” Sam explained just before resting a kiss on Blaine’s forehead that told so much of the love he felt for the smaller boy.

“Isn’t he the sweetest thing?” Blaine asked the other couple, obviously proud of his boyfriend.

“Plus that way we can be there to see how the preparations are going” Sam explained.

“And it will take my mind off from the sadness of the show ending” Blaine added with a sad smile.

“Yeah, I thought you looked pretty upset last night at the goodbye party” Sebastian observed, as he never liked to see his friend in any other mood that was not his usual happy self.

“And he was” Sam agreed, squeezing his shoulders to bring him closer to him. “He’s been moping around the apartment all day”

“I was not!” Blaine protested, even as he let himself comforted by the warmth of Sam’s embrace.

“You so were!” Sam insisted with a laugh. “There was nothing I could do to make you smile until I reminded you about leaving for Los Angeles tomorrow!”

“Well, can you blame me?” Blaine tried to defend himself, smiling all the way to let everyone know they were only joking. “It was my dream come true, and I had a hell of a time, of course I’m going to be sad”

“Of course you do, Killer, it’s understandable” Sebastian quickly agreed, immediately showing his friend his unconditional support.

“Great, so now I’m the bad guy, right?” Sam protested with a pout.

“I’ve always had a thing for bad guys, you know?” Blaine joked with a seductive wink that elicited a few laughs around him.

“I’m just glad that’s not true, or otherwise you and Seb might have become an issue after all” Sam joked, knowing Sebastian would appreciate his humor, until he realized they had never discussed the guy’s feelings for Blaine in front of his boyfriend and his face fell quite comically. “Oh, I didn’t mean…”

“Don’t worry, Sam, Alex knows about my former crush on Blaine” Sebastian reassured him with a chuckle, as Alex squeezed his hand understandingly. “Both in high school and way more recently”

“Yes, and given it’s all in the past, it’s not a problem at all for me” Alex added, giving Sam the ability to breathe again, relieved.

“Is this why you always tell me I have the biggest mouth?” Sam asked, turning to his boyfriend who was looking amusedly at him.

“Exactly this” Blaine answered with a chuckle once he looked at Sebastian and made sure no offense had been made by his clumsy husband-to-be. “Well, guys, thanks for dinner, but we surely should be going, before Sam manages to balls up any further”

“Don’t you mean because we have to get up pretty early tomorrow?” Sam asked, feigning to be offended.

“Well, that too” Blaine agreed with a mischievous smile as he jumped from his seat to avoid the playful punch coming his way.

“Well, guys, have a really nice week in the beach, and we’ll see you in only a few days” Sebastian said as he got up himself to accompany his friends to the door.

“Please, don’t forget our suits” Blaine pleaded. Just so neither Blaine or Sam could see each other’s suits before the wedding –surprisingly it had been Sam’s idea, as he wanted to keep some of weddings most ridiculous traditions alive–, they had agreed to take them to Sebastian separately so he would take them to Los Angeles for them and keep them hidden until then.

“We’ll take the best care of them, don’t you worry about it” Alex reassured him with a pat to his shoulder.

“Yes, just concentrate in relaxing and enjoying your free time until everybody gathers there and completely steal you away from each other” Sebastian advised them as he took his time to embrace them as a goodbye.

“As if I would let them” Sam answered, only half-joking, as he threw his arm around his fiancé.

“Just wait”

**********

After getting practically no sleep that night –as they were too excited about their trip, even if Sam wouldn’t admit it– and having a nice flight towards the other end of the country, Sam and Blaine arrived to Los Angeles airport at almost midday, ready to start their pre-wedding much-needed vacation.

“Was your brother supposed to pick us up?” Sam asked after they collected their suitcases –which were quite a few considering they were going to be away from home for like a month and they didn’t know what kind of clothes they would need for their honeymoon, so they had packed pretty much everything– and walked out the door to the open area of the airport.

“I don’t know, we didn’t agree on anything” Blaine answered. “Why?”

“Because I think I just saw him” Sam explained, his tone a mixture of amusement and embarrassment.

“Really? Where?” Blaine asked, getting really anxious and excited at the thought of seeing his brother sooner than expected.

“Look right there”

Sam pointed ahead of him to a vast group of people waiting for their loved ones to make their way through the door. Blaine was about to tell him he couldn’t see him when above all the heads he could see a terribly ridiculous and colorful hand-made sign, full of hearts and rainbows, that read _The Evans_ and which would undoubtedly belong to his crazy and silly big brother.

“Oh my God, he’s such an idiot” Blaine exclaimed with a hand to his face as he tried to stop himself from laughing.

“I think it’s sweet” Sam answered with the biggest smile, even if he still felt a little embarrassed at the attention Cooper seemed to be bringing upon himself –especially considering he was already pretty famous.

“It sounds good, I’ll give you that” Blaine admitted as he sweetly took Sam’s hand in his and pulled him in his brother’s direction.

“I was worried he might resent us because you’re giving up your last name to take mine, but he seems alright with it” Sam confessed for the first time, and Blaine turned up to him, stopping for a second to make himself understood.

“Sam, he loves you and anything we do will be alright for him” Blaine explained, cupping Sam’s cheek for good measure before taking his hand again and resuming their pace.

“I know he loves me but… I guess he’ll never cease to amaze me” Sam answered, eliciting a smile from the other boy before they finally got to see the man in question.

“Hey, Coop!” Blaine yelled as he literally jumped on his brother’s arms. After four months without seeing him in person, he wasn’t any embarrassed to admit he had missed him like crazy.

“Hey, Squirt” Cooper answered equally happy, embracing him back just as strongly and trying not to drop him. “I might have to stop calling you that, given you’re going to be a married man in less than a week”

“Then it wouldn’t be you” Blaine answered with the biggest smile on his face as he climbed down from his brother’s embrace.

“You’re right, married or not, you’re always going to be a squirt to me” Cooper answered, uncharacteristically honest instead of sarcastic as he cupped Blaine’s cheeks –he probably had missed him just as much as the other way around–, before turning to the other boy. “Hey, Sam”

“Coop” Sam answered, reciprocating the embrace.

“When should I be having the if-you-ever-hurt-my-brother conversation?” Cooper joked, once the embrace broke. “Now or can we wait until tomorrow?”

“I think tomorrow will be fine, we should get some rest first” Sam joked back as he put his arm around Blaine and brought him to his side with a smile.

“Alright then. Let’s get going” Cooper said as he took one of the suitcases from his brother to help him. “I can’t wait for you to see my new house!”

**********

Since things were looking bright for Cooper too and he was already making a name for himself in the business after two apparitions in Michael Bay’s films that got him directly to get the main role of a successful TV show called _White Collar_ that was already finishing its first season, he had been able to afford a nice house near the beach and a luxurious car in which he was taking the couple to see it. The money was nice, and he loved the lifestyle it allowed him, but what made him really happy was success, the feeling he was finally doing what he liked and getting some respect from the industry. And Blaine couldn’t be prouder of his brother.

“So what do you think?” Cooper said, obviously ecstatic as the other two stood, mouths wide open, at the door of the fence to his little garden.

“Coop, it’s amazing!” Blaine exclaimed, looking at the luxurious little mansion. “I bet you can hear the waves from you room”

“You can if you’re silent, which doesn’t happen often. This house and this car are just cheeks’ magnets, if you know what I mean” Cooper answered with a wink that elicited a groan from his little brother.

“That’s information we really don’t need to know” Sam added with a chuckle. “But it’s a really beautiful house, Coop. Congrats”

“Thank you, boys. Let me show you to your room” Cooper said as he lead them inside.

“Oh, we have a room?” Blaine asked, trying to sound amused even if he was pretty moved at his brother’s gesture.

“Well, of course you do! That way you won’t have an excuse to always make me be the one to visit!” Cooper joked as he opened a door on the second floor for them. “Ta-da!”

Blaine laughed as he entered the room. There was no denying Cooper had decorated that room just for them: the window was directed at the sea, as he knew Blaine would love; it was not such a minimalist decoration as the rest of the house but a little more classic, cozier, as Blaine and Sam preferred; the comforter on the king-sized bed was avengers-themed –which hadn’t been easy to find for that big a bed!– and on the walls hung two framed posters: the cover from the first number of _Nightbird and the Blond Chameleon_ and the promotional poster of Blaine’s _Les miserables_.

“Wow, Coop… this is…” Blaine tried to praise him, but he was too speechless with emotion to finish the sentence.

“It’s awesome!” Sam finished for him before shamelessly jumping on the bed to land on his back.

“See? I told you it was your room” Cooper answered, glad to see they liked it so much, as he pushed his brother into the room. “I know you’ll be heading to the hotel with the rest of the guests once they’re here, but you have to let me have you here until then. You’re my little brother and you’re getting married and I haven’t seen you in months… I want to have you here for a few days”

“Oh, look at you getting so emotional” Sam took the chance to mock him from his place on the bed, not being able to see the cushion flying to his face until it landed.

“Don’t mind him, of course we’ll stay here with you until everyone comes” Blaine intervened with a smile as Sam sat up on the bed and grabbed his hand to make him sit next to him.

“So when are you moving to Los Angeles, then?” Cooper decided to change the subject before he embarrassed himself, taking a seat on a chair in front of the couple. “At the rate you both are going, you would be able to afford a house like this in no time”

“Oh, I don’t think we’re ready to move” Blaine answered with a smile. “We have our life in New York, after all”

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind” Sam intervened with a shrug of his shoulders. “I work from home, so my home is where Blaine is”

“Awww” Blaine purred as he deposited a sloppy kiss on Sam’s cheek.

“I think I’m going to throw up” Cooper joked as he pretended to retch at their fluffiness.

“I mean that we’ll live where Blaine needs to live” Sam explained between laughs at his brother-in-law’s antics. “I’ll be happy anywhere just as long as I’m at his side”

“So Blaine, what do you say? Ready to make the big jump to Hollywood?” Cooper insisted, even if he already knew the answer –but hey, no one could blame him for trying, as nothing would make him happier than having his brother and his fabulous husband near.

“No, I’m sorry, Coop” Blaine answered with a sad smile. “You know I’d love having you near more than anything but… now that I’ve tasted what Broadway is, I cannot leave it. I need to continue trying”

“I was afraid you would say that” Cooper answered, patting his brother’s thigh to let him know he understood. “Maybe I’ll have to move to New York someday then”

“Maybe” Blaine agreed happily, resting his hand on top of his brother’s.

“Who invited you?” Sam joked, immediately breaking the sentimental mood.

“Blaine, you’re really sure you want to marry this guy?” Cooper asked, feigning to be pretty fed up at his brother-in-law.

“Pretty sure, yeah” Blaine answered, looking adoringly at the blond guy, whose heart skipped a beat at all the love he could see in his partner’s eyes.

“Then I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to choose: it’s him or me” Cooper warned him.

“Yeah, Blaine, you need to choose” Sam added with a serious nod of his head.

“Don’t even joke about that” Blaine complained, looking alternatively at the other two. “You know you both are the most important people in my life, right?”

“Squirt, we were only joking” Cooper rushed to reassure him with a smile.

“I know” Blaine answered, but it was quite evident he was getting a bit emotional. “It’s just… I love you both so much”

“Awww” Cooper said as he left his chair to sit on the bed at Blaine’s other side so he could embrace him. “We love you too, Blainey”

“More than anything” Sam added as he forcefully threw his arms around the brothers and made them fall on a heap of limps on the bed, with them laughing so hard they could hardly get any breath.

“Thank you, guys” Blaine said once he was able to extricate himself from that mess, although the three of them remained comfortably lying next to each other for a while.

“You’re such a melodramatic little guy” Cooper casually commented when he was able to stop laughing.

“He’s just a little emotional these days with the wedding and the ending of the show” Sam said in his defense with an adoring smile as he turned on his side and let his hand lightly rest on Blaine’s stomach.

“Yeah, so get used to it because there are going to be a lot of moments like that on the following days, you morons” Blaine complained, although the huge smile on his face at been between his two favorite people in the world clearly belied his words.

“Nice, first you love us and now you insult us” Cooper commented.

“You had it coming” Blaine retorted with a chuckle before falling into a companionable silence.

“And how was to say goodbye to your first Broadway show?” Cooper asked after a few minutes in that intimate atmosphere the three of them had just created.

“Awful. I was not ready for that” Blaine honestly answered.

“It was amazing, though” Sam added, with no trace of joking this time. “I was at the audience in the last show and the ovation they got… You should have seen it, there wasn’t a dry eye in the whole orchestra”

“Nor on stage, let me tell you that” Blaine added, a little embarrassed at the praise.

“So any projects coming?” Cooper asked, honestly interested.

“Not exactly, though the producers told me that they were trying to put something together for the fall and if they do it… they might count on me” Blaine timidly explained.

“For the leading role, they said” Sam answered, obviously proud at his partner.

“And you know what show it is?” Cooper asked.

“No idea” Blaine responded with a shrug of his shoulders. “But they said I would be perfect for the role, so… fingers crossed”

“Chances are he can’t take the part if he is too busy promoting his album, of course” Sam casually let the bomb fall, before Blaine could decide not to share the news.

“Album?” Cooper asked in confusion.

“Sam, that is stupid” Blaine protested, before turning to his brother to explain. “Just because Alex, Sebastian’s boyfriend, kind of knows a producer and they want me to record a demo for them, doesn’t mean anything will come out of it”

“It doesn’t mean it won’t either, right?” Sam tried to reason with him.

“Of course not, I’ve always pictured you like a tiny rock star” Cooper added.

“Well, thanks” Blaine retorted with a sarcastic laugh.

“No, but seriously… Would you like it? At least that way you would be able to write music again. You were always pretty good at that” Cooper reminded him, as he had always envied Blaine’s musical abilities.

“Yeah, why not?” Blaine answered. “Just as long as it doesn’t mean forgetting about Broadway. That is my main objective right now”

“Well, I have no doubt you’ll be successful in anything you try, so I don’t worry at all” Sam answered, as easy as that, as he kissed Blaine’s cheek in appreciation for his talent.

“Neither I do about you, now that you’ve started painting again”

“Ok, are you two going to monopolize every single artistic discipline you can imagine or what?” Cooper asked, mockingly frustrated. “Leave something for the rest of us!”

“Says the Hollywood star” Blaine joked, making the other two laugh.

“Yeah, we’re surely a successful bunch, aren’t we?” Cooper said before affectionately ruffling his brother’s hair while ignoring his protests.

**********

After having lunch with Cooper on his luxurious kitchen, the older man had to leave them for a while to film a scene he hadn’t been able to reschedule, so the other two took the chance to visit the place where they were going to marry in five days, that stunning hill over the sea they both loved so much, to plan how they were going to make it and where everything and everyone would go.

The beauty of the place took Blaine’s breath away for a second when they arrived, just as it always did, and he threw his arms around his boyfriend in a rush of affection, glad to be there with him, especially knowing they were marrying there in less than a week.

“You look so happy” Sam commented as he looked intently at his fiancé, tightly wrapped in his arms, incredibly glad not to find even a trace of the sadness that had invaded his existence so completely only a few months ago. In its place, Sam could only see love and a happiness so real that he could almost touch it with his own fingers.

“How can I not be?” Blaine answered with a smile. “Look around us: the trees, the sea… This is the most amazing place on Earth, the place where you fell in love with me and where Cooper knew we were meant to be, and I’m giving myself completely to you here in just a few days. I don’t think I can get any happier than this”

“I can’t believe this is happening” Sam answered, his face hurting from how big his smile was. “I feel like my whole life was just a path leading me to this moment, and now it’s coming true”

“It’s coming true because you’ve made it possible” Blaine said. “You saved me, Sam”

“Blaine, don’t…” Sam tried to stop him, because he didn’t like when Blaine gave him all the credit of their more than successful relationship, but this time Blaine didn’t let him.

“Sam, you saved me” Blaine insisted, taking both of Sam’s hands on his own to make a point. “Both when you picked up the pieces of my broken heart and put them together so I could fill it with my love for you and then just a few months ago when… when my mother died and you didn’t let me fall. I don’t think I tell you nearly enough how grateful I am that you chose me to walk down that path at your side from now on”

“It’s not like I really had a choice, I already loved you so much”

“That’s why I want to ask something. I know we’ll be making that promise in front of all our loved ones in just five days, but this is just for us”

“What?” Sam asked with a confused smile.

“Sam, you’re the love of my life and I can’t imagine a life without you anymore” Blaine explained, squeezing Sam’s hands once again. “So do you take me as your very needy and obnoxious husband, in sickness and in health, only for richer ‘cause we’re a couple of successful bastards and are never going to be poor again, and do you promise to always hold my hand when my favorite TV character dies and dry my tears whenever we watch _Brokeback Mountain_?”

“I do” Sam answered with a watery smile, not being able to decide if he wanted to laugh or cry.

“Anything you want to ask me now?” Blaine asked, reciprocating Sam’s smile, as he encouraged him to make the question himself.

“Do you take me as your ridiculous and big-mouthed husband, who will always let you nestle at his chest at night, and do you promise to love me even when I won’t cook or be a messy bastard? Oh, and do you promise to always laugh at my impressions, however pathetic they are?

“I do” Blaine answered with a chuckle as he dried a stray tear threatening to fall down his cheek.

His heart fluttering with love and emotion, Sam threw himself at Blaine with the intention of giving him a kiss he would never forget. But he did it with such impetus that he made Blaine lose his balance, and as he took a step backwards to balance himself he tripped with a rock and ended up falling on his butt, with Sam immediately falling on top of him.

“I’m so sorry!” Sam exclaimed, obviously worried about his boyfriend’s welfare even if the shorter man broke in laughter. “You okay?”

“I think I broke my butt” Blaine answered, groaning even if he couldn’t stop laughing.

“Are you really hurt?” Sam insisted even if Blaine’s contagious laughter was already making him smile.

“I don’t think so, but let me stand so I can check it” Blaine answered, slapping Sam’s side to get him to move off him.

“Before I let go of you and you stand up… I was thinking… if you’re not too badly hurt…”

“What?”

“Could we maybe… I don’t know… christen the place?” Sam suggested with a mischievous smile before he successfully captured Blaine’s lips this time.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Blaine asked against Sam’s lips, still not ready to let go of them.

“You always know what I mean” Sam answered as he took advantage of their position to trace a slow path of kisses down his lover’s throat. “Wouldn’t that make this place really special?”

“Oh, so getting married here isn’t special enough for you?” Blaine joked, even if he couldn’t help a moan at his boyfriend’s loving ministrations.

“Of course. But what about something that it’s only ours? Just you and me?” Sam tried to convince him as he gently sucked on Blaine’s special spot just under his ear.

“Well, if someone walks on us it won’t be just you and me anymore” Blaine insisted, trying not to laugh. “Because I feel obliged to remind you this is a public place”

“Shit, you’re such a spoilsport” Sam protested with a groan as he stopped his advances.

“I love you too” Blaine sarcastically replied as Sam stood up and took his hand to help him up, watching him intently to see if he had been really hurt. “Besides, if you can wait a few hours, I don’t know if you noticed, but Cooper gave us the room the farthest away from his. I don’t think that was just chance”

“Oh, so he’s expecting us to have sex tonight then, right?” Sam asked, his eyebrows rising at his boyfriend’s observant skills.

“And it would be rude to disappoint him, you know”

“Maybe you’re not such a spoilsport then, after all” Sam joked as he put his arm around Blaine’s shoulders and kissed him with a smile.

“And now can we start thinking about where we want everything to be for the actual wedding, please?”


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days were happily spent between lazing around and sunbathing at the beach on the days and sightseeing and going out at evenings, sometimes with Cooper –if he was available due to his job–, sometimes on their own. They couldn’t believe how fast the time flew by when you had so much fun, and they would have been amazingly sad their week was coming closer to the end if that didn’t mean that the final event, their longed-for wedding, was also coming closer.

The day before the wedding, very early in the morning, Cooper took them in his luxurious car to the hotel where they would be staying for the next two nights, as the rest of their guests were supposed to be arriving soon. They had already decided to move to the hotel with them, as it didn’t feel right to stay at Cooper’s house anymore while their friends and Sam’s family was there –although Blaine’s father would understandably be staying with Cooper–. So as Cooper tried to find the perfect spot to park his car –not any place was adequate enough for his car–, Blaine and Sam entered the hotel to see if his reservations were all ready.

“Hi” Blaine greeted the man at the reception desk. “We’ve got a reservation by the name Anderson for today”

“Oh yes, I have it right here” The man kindly answered after checking his computer. “Six rooms, right?”

“Right: four doubles, one single and one suite. There’s only us here right now, but the rest of the guest will be arriving soon. Can we get the keys so we can leave our luggage?”

“Certainly. You only need to sign here” The man explained as he handed Blaine a paper sheet  for his reservations and waited for him to sign. “Oh, are you Blaine Anderson?”

“Not for long, but yes” Blaine answered with a knowing smile to his fiancé that was immediately reciprocated.

“Something arrived this morning for you. Let me get it” The guy answered before disappearing through the door behind him.

“What do you think it might be?” Blaine asked, turning around towards his boyfriend again.

“If it’s something from a fan I’m afraid I will suggest it’s more like stalking” Sam joked as he tenderly pinched Blaine’s cheek.

“Here you are” the man said once he came back with a beautiful bunch of flowers in his hand. “And here are your keys. I hope you enjoy your stay here”

“I’m sure we will, thank you” Blaine answered, all politeness, as he took the floral ornament and Sam took the keys to all the rooms.

“Let’s just sit here for a second” Sam suggested as they reached the sitting area before the elevators, seeing how anxious Blaine was about discovering his mysterious friend.

“Who could it be from?” Blaine asked as he sat down on the couch next to where Sam was already sitting and left the flowers on the coffee table in front of them.

“Maybe you could read the card?” Sam suggested with a fond smile, seeing as Blaine rushed to obey.

“It’s from Kurt” Blaine explained as soon as he read the card, looking as surprised as Sam was feeling. “Mercedes and he are still in contact, she must have told him we would be here”

“He always ends up making and apparition one way or another, doesn’t he?” Sam said, trying not to sound too annoyed or sarcastic, if only for Blaine’s sake. “What does he say?”

“Not much” Blaine tried to diminish the importance of it, sensing the slight irritation on his fiancé. “He just wishes us all the happiness in the world and that we have a wonderful wedding”

“That’s… kind of nice” Sam was forced to admit, even smiling at his boyfriend to show him he was not really upset.

“It is” Blaine agreed, reciprocating the smile. “You think he really feels it or he’s just being polite?”

“A lot of time has passed, B. Maybe he really means it” Sam honestly answered, knowing it was important for Blaine to know his relationship with Kurt hadn’t been a farce and the other boy genuinely cared about him, even if they didn’t have any kind of relationship those days anymore. “Or he’s just jealous he lost his chance to marry you, and wants you to see how much of a gentleman he is to win your heart back” Sam couldn’t help himself to add in a joking tone, knowing Blaine would appreciate his attempt of humor.

“Oh my God, I’m so glad he missed his chance” Blaine answered with a chuckle as he stretched his neck to capture Sam’s lips in a sweet kiss.

“Me too!” Sam answered, gently removing a stray curl that had fallen on Blaine’s forehead. “Should we be grateful to him, after all?”

“Why, for leaving me alone and miserable and then wanting to manipulate me into getting back with him and then trying to keep you away from me when I had that accident and then judging me for being a waiter and…”

“Ok, ok, I get it” Sam stopped him with a laugh, bringing a finger to Blaine’s lips to stop his rant. “He’s an idiot. Besides, there is nothing to thank him for, I would have never let you marry him even if he had wanted”

“You already told me that back in high school, remember?” Blaine said with a reminiscent smile.

“Did I?”

“Yeah. You told me something like _dude, we’re in high school, you are not ready to get married and I’m not letting you_ ”

“Did I already sound so possessive back then?” Sam asked in surprise. He knew he had always been very protective towards the other boy, but he wasn’t aware of how obvious he was already in high school.

“Apparently so” Blaine answered with a chuckle and an adoring kiss to Sam’s cheek.

“You didn’t listen to me back then, though. I would have had to try harder than that if you had decided to really marry Kurt while you were still together”

“Would you have really tried to stop me?” Blaine asked, although he already kind of knew the answer.

“Yes” Sam answered without the slightest trace of joking or hesitation. “Even if you hadn’t loved me back, I would have never let you make such a mistake. I love you too much to see you unhappy, and Kurt never deserved you”

“I can’t believe you told him that” Blaine said with a proud smile as he rested his head on Sam’s shoulder, nestling against his side as Sam’s arm immediately went around him.

“Well, he needed to hear it” Sam added, squeezing his fiancé strongly to him.

“Thank you, Sammy” Blaine said, raising his head for a second to look at Sam, his eyes so full of love and admiration than the latter almost forgot to breathe.

“What for?”

“For always caring so much about my happiness”

“Your happiness is the goal of my life, B” Sam answered, his hand moving on its own accord to Blaine’s soft curls as if they were magnets. “Nothing will ever be more important”

“If it helps, I would have never let you marry Kurt either” Cooper interrupted them as he arrived and sat in front of them.

“Yeah, but just because you hated him” Blaine answered with a chuckle.

“Of course not, I would have been worrying about your happiness and… No, you’re right, I hated him” Cooper didn’t even try to lie, making the other laugh wholeheartedly.

“Should I be flattered then that you’re letting _me_ marry your little brother?” Sam asked even if he already knew that Cooper liked him much more than Blaine’s previous partner.

“I’m not only letting you, but I’m the one officiating the wedding. Think about that” Cooper answered in a joking tone, even if he was being completely honest, before his phone started ringing and he stood up to answer it. “Excuse me for a second”

“Wow” Sam exclaimed, having been left speechless by his brother-in-law’s words.

“And you sometimes wonder if my brother really loves you or he just puts up with you” Blaine said, his heart about to burst with happiness at how well the two most important people in his life got along.

“I won’t ever again, even when he’s being a pest to me” Sam promised sincerely.

“It’s still a nice gesture from Kurt, right? The flowers, I mean” Blaine said, feeling a bit guilty about how they had been making fun of his former boyfriend but not wanting Sam to feel awkward about being moved by his gesture.

“Yes, it is” Sam answered with a fond smile towards his huge-hearted partner. “And it’s alright for you to be happy about it, you know”

“I didn’t want you to feel awkward” Blaine confessed while crunching his face in an embarrassed gesture.

“Why would I?” Sam said, chuckling as he embraced Blaine more strongly to him in a rush of emotion. “I know you don’t feel anything for him anymore, and I can understand that it makes you happy to get his blessing. Hey, Mercedes is my ex and you don’t mind her coming to the wedding after all! What a big hypocrite I would be if it bothered me that you got flowers!”

“True, but Mercedes is our friend, and she never tried to sabotage our relationship” Blaine protested, though he was relieved Sam always understood him so well.

“Yeah, but the thing is I understand Kurt will always be a big part of your life, if only in the past. And it’s alright for you to be happy that he approves, ok?”

“Ok” Blaine agreed before gratefully placing a grateful kiss on the side of Sam’s neck. “But the truth is… you know what really makes me happy? Not that it really mattered, but it’s nice to know that there is no one against our relationship anymore. Absolutely no one”

“You’re right” Sam agreed with a slow nod of his head before capturing Blaine’s lips in a quick but loving kiss. “Although I’m thinking at that delivery girl from the pizza place. You know she is totally in love with me”

“Yeah, I know, I’m thinking about filling a complaint about her, she won’t stop flirting with you and sending you not-so-subtle hints! Right in front of my face!” Blaine complained, mockingly outraged, eliciting a hearty laugh from his boyfriend.

“Maybe she thinks we’re just roommates” Sam tried to defend her.

“Well, maybe next time I’ll kiss you full in the mouth when she comes so she gets a better idea about what is really going on there” Blaine answered with an adorable pout that only made Sam fall in love with him all over again.

“Or maybe I’ll just need to show her my ring. Next time she comes we’ll be married, after all”

“You’re right. Uuuhg, anything to stop her from being so obnoxious!”

“Oh my God, you’re so sweet when you get jealous” Sam exclaimed while trying not to laugh.

“That doesn’t mean you’re allowed to get me jealous, ok?” Blaine protested, trying to look menacing even if a smile was already breaking in his lips.

“I wouldn’t even dream of it” Sam answered with another kiss.

“What would you never dream of?” a familiar voice asked behind them, and both Sam and Blaine smiled even more widely at discovering all of their friends were already there.

“Nothing you need to know about, Puckerman” Sam answered as he stood up to embrace his friend.

“Tomorrow’s the big day!” Tina exclaimed happily as she took her beloved Blaineybear into her arms. “I can’t believe it and at the same time nothing ever made more sense”

“I shouldn’t be able to understand that, but somehow I do” Blaine laughed as he reciprocated Tina’s embrace and then moved into Sebastian’s outstretched arms. “Hi, Seb. Hey, you seem upset”

“Oh no, Killer, I’m very happy to be here” Sebastian answered, even if he didn’t sound all that cheerful.

“What’s wrong?” Blaine asked, immediately worried, as he broke the embrace to look at his friend’s face.

“Oh, he’s just being Mr. grumpy that those stupid guys from the airport lost one of our suitcases” Alex answered for him in a joking tone, but Blaine didn’t miss the warning gaze Sebastian sent his boyfriend and how Alex’s expression changed immediately at realizing he had put his foot in it.

“Yeah, well, you know how I am, a control freak” Sebastian tried to diminish the importance of it for Blaine’s sake, not wanting for him to know that it was indeed the suitcase carrying his and Sam’s suits the one that had been lost. At least not yet, no need to worry him so soon when the problem could be solved, right? “They said they would send it here tomorrow morning at the most so yeah, I’m just being a little grumpy”

“You sure?” Blaine asked, knowing his friend too much to wonder if he was not just pretending.

“Yeah, of course” Sebastian insisted as he patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Stop worrying, we’re here to make sure those are the best couple of days of yours and Sam’s lives, ok?”

“Ok, but that will have to wait until tonight” Cooper intervened as he came back and started shaking hands and quick embraces with the group until he reached his brother. “Dad called from the airport, I’m picking him up and you’re coming with me, he said he’d like to spend the day with us like a family and everything. He was quite insistent”

“But… Sam’s family are arriving any minute now too, and we haven’t seen them in forever” Blaine answered, and Sam could see it in his eyes how torn his heart was about where he wanted to be that day.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, you go with your father” Sam quickly encouraged him as he put his arm around his shoulders in a supporting gesture. “I’ll spend the day with my family and then we’ll all get together for dinner”

“But your parents…” Blaine insisted, clearly feeling guilty about what he considered standing them up.

“My parents will understand that you need to attend your own family too” Sam reassured him, squeezing him more strongly to his side, understanding completely Blaine’s own need to reconnect with his father and spend some time with him and his brother as a family.

“Of course we do” Mary Evans intervened as soon as the Evans family made their way across the door.

“Hey!” Sam greeted his family happily as both his siblings jumped on him and he tried, unsuccessfully, to get rid of them.

“It wasn’t planned, I was going to spend the day with you guys…” Blaine explained even as he was engulfed in Mary’s arms.

“Oh, we’ll do that tomorrow anyway, right? At your wedding” Dwight added, also embracing the two boys.

“And tonight” Blaine answered with a relieved smile.

“But you owe me a dance” Stacey warned him with a stern gaze before breaking into a smile and embracing him almost as strongly as her brother usually did.

“I’ll dance with you both tonight and tomorrow, ok?” Blaine promised as he squeezed her lovingly to his chest.

“Ok” She agreed as Steve got her out of the way so he could embrace his brother-in-law too.

“Oh my God, why are you taller than me already?” Blaine exclaimed, mockingly outraged at the notion.

“Because you’re kind of short” Steve answered cockily, reminding Blaine so much of his older brother that he could only smile.

“Touché” he answered with a smile, that only got bigger when Sam returned to his side, obviously glad to see him more relaxed.

“So you guys have a nice day around the city too, and we’ll meet here at seven for dinner all together, alright?” Sam announced to everyone, friends and family.

“Better leave the luggage on our rooms before we leave, though” Blaine suggested as he delivered the keys to the rooms around and everyone got into the elevators.

“Where are you going?” Tina asked as they reached their floor and she saw both Blaine and Sam stopped in front of the same door.

“To our room, to leave our luggage” Sam explained, even if he thought that had been made clear already.

“What do you mean _your room_? You have to sleep in different rooms tonight” Tina explained with an implied _duh_ in her voice, as if whatever the hell she meant had to be obvious for everybody else.

“Excuse me?” Sam asked, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“It’s the day prior to your wedding!” Tina insisted, as if that explained everything. “You have to… save yourselves for the wedding night”

“I’ll say it again: excuse me?”

“Come on, have some respect for traditions! It’s a brilliant idea!”

“What the hell, Tina? I’m not going to spend the night away from Blaine just because you got a brilliant idea! Right, B?” He retorted, looking for his boyfriend’s support.

“Well…” Blaine started hesitantly, instantly showing everyone he was thinking about it.

“You have to be kidding me” Sam protested, knowing his boyfriend enough to know he was on board with the idea and not wanting to believe it.

“I think Tina has a point…” Blaine explained, sounding almost guilty at contradicting his fiancé like that. “We should separate this evening after dinner and not see each other until the wedding tomorrow, right?”

“But I don’t want to!” Sam protested, pouting and sounding like an spoilt kid. “I can agree to spend the day apart tomorrow until the wedding, but I want to sleep with you!” he insisted, looking at Blaine with pleading eyes. “We don’t even have to do anything, but I need you at my side to be able to sleep and you know that!”

“I thought you wanted to keep up with traditions” Blaine tried to reason with him, but Sam was having none of that.

“The tradition is to wait until the wedding to have sex, and I’m afraid we’re a little too late for that” Sam sarcastically replied, realizing he was losing the battle.

“All the more reason to do something special tonight, right? Come on, it will be fun!” Blaine tried to encourage him into the idea. “If we don’t sleep together tonight it will make us want it all the more tomorrow, right?”

“Babe, I don’t need any help to want you any night and… I just realized we are discussing our sex life in front of all these people, my mother included, and now I just want for the ground to swallow me whole so I’ll agree just so we can stop talking about this” Sam said and Blaine thought he had never seen him blushing so furiously as he was right then as he opened the door to his assigned room and disappeared inside, trying to ignore all the laughs he could hear behind him.

“So it’s decided, Blainey, let’s get another room for you, then” Tina said as she hooked her arm with Blaine’s and brought him back to the elevators to go back to the reception desk as everyone else separated towards their different destinations.

**********

Everybody made themselves at home at their respective rooms: a suite for the Evans family, double rooms for Alex and Sebastian, Mike and Tina and Puck and Artie, who thought that would be fun to share, and single ones for Mercedes… and Blaine and Sam –though Sam was really keeping the double one he was supposed to share with his fiancé because he would move back after the wedding, after all, and also because frankly, he was a bit frustrated about the whole arrangement and wasn’t going to accept changing rooms on top of everything–. After that, and after Blaine was 100% sure Sam was not angry at him for agreeing with Tina and had kissed away his adorable pout, everyone separated to spend the day until they reunited in the evening: the group of friends coming from New York would undoubtedly spend the day at the beach; the Evans, with Sam at the head of the family, would be sightseeing around the city and taking pictures with each and every one of the stars at the Hollywood Walk of Fame –Stacey’s idea– as only Sam had been to Los Angeles before; and the Andersons would have more of a quiet day, with Don seeing Cooper’s house and the three of them having lunch together and reacquainting themselves as a family.

And even if it was a very funny day that Sam wouldn’t change for the world, he started missing Blaine in the afternoon, when he and his family came back to the hotel for a little swim in the pool and the Andersons were still nowhere to be seen. After all, they hardly ever spent so much time apart, except for work, and Sam hadn’t even wanted to text Blaine along the day so as not to meddle with that so-much-needed time with his father.

So it was a big relief –he didn’t even try to hide the smile breaking into his lips– when he saw Cooper making his way towards him, more than hour later, as that meant his fiancé was going to be in his arms in a matter of minutes.

“Hey, Coop” he greeted him as Cooper sat on the chair next to his. “When are you giving me my fiancé back?”

“Oh, he didn’t come back with me, he said he’d take a cab later” Cooper explained, chuckling at the obvious disappointment he could see in Sam’s face. “But I needed to come back early, I promised Sebastian I would tell him about a couple of embarrassing memories from Blaine’s childhood for his best man’s speech before dinner”

“But where is he? Is everything ok?” Sam asked, immediately on alert.

“Everything is fine, relax” Cooper answered as he sat more comfortably on the chair and rested his head on the backrest, ready to sunbathe a little. “We went to the hill to see how the preparations were going and he felt like staying there on his own for a while. You know how much he loves that place”

“Oh. But he was alright, right?” Sam insisted, needing to make sure.

“Yes” Cooper patiently answered, if only because he was glad to see how much Sam cared about his little brother. “Only a little melancholic in my opinion, though he didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe he’d talk to you, but you really don’t need to go, he was fine, you can talk to him when he gets back. He’s probably just nervous”

“He’s at the hill, you say?” Sam asked, already on his feet.

“I don’t know why I even bother” Cooper joked as he put his feet on the chair Sam had just vacated.

“Thanks, Coop, but… I miss him” Sam answered with a little embarrassed smile.

“Oh my God, you two are going to be even more unbearable when you marry, right?” Cooper asked, feigning to be horrified at the notion.

“You can be sure of that!” Sam laughed at his back as he left in search of his boyfriend.

**********

The hill was not that far, and it only took Sam like ten minutes on a cab –after changing off his bathing suit for more adequate clothing and grabbing a cardigan for Blaine as it was already cooling down and he knew he was very sensible to the cold– to reach his destination.

He had to smile as soon as he covered the last feet from the car and saw him near the edge, quietly sitting on the floor, his knees brought to his chest as he gazed into the horizon. Even if Sam couldn’t see his face because his back was to him, he could feel Blaine was so into his thoughts that he hadn’t even heard him approach. He was so still that the only movement in him was the dancing of his soft curls to the sea breeze, and Sam was glad he had thought about bringing the cardigan when he noticed the goose bumps on his arms.

“Hey” Sam softly said, not wanting to scare him, as he walked to his boyfriend and immediately covered him with the cardigan he had brought for him, making sure to rub his upper arms in an attempt to warm him up as soon as possible.

“Hey” Blaine answered as his face turned towards him, his voice full of surprise –although he should have known better, he realized with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

“Cooper told me you’d be here” Sam explained as he sat behind his fiancé, one leg at each side of him, and put his arms around him in a warm embrace. “And I thought it would be nice spending some quality time just the two of us. I haven’t had you for myself like in a week”

“Sam, it’s only been half a day” Blaine contradicted him with a chuckle full of fondness.

“Really? It felt like a lifetime” Sam joked, reinforcing his grip on his boyfriend until the latter ended leaning against his chest. “And I thought you might be cold, so…”

“What did Cooper say to make you come?” Blaine asked after a couple of minutes of companionable silence.

“That you were in a melancholic kind of mood”

“Well, yeah, but it’s nothing, I’m sorry if I made you worry” Blaine honestly apologized, resting an adoring kiss on Sam’s forearm. “I just needed to think”

“You’re thinking about your mother?” Sam asked, as always not feeling the need to beat about the bush with the person he loved the most in the world.

“How do you know?” Blaine asked in utter amazement as he turned his head around as much as he could to look at Sam’s face.

“Well, you’re in a kind of sad mood, you didn’t want to tell Cooper and your father why, and I know you enough to know you’re not getting cold feet about the wedding” Sam explained, shrugging his shoulders at the simplicity of it.

“Of course I don’t. It’s what I want the most in the world” Blaine explained as he finally let himself go completely and perched fully against Sam’s chest, happy to see Sam was that confident about his love for him to know he would never have doubts about the wedding.

“I know. And since absolutely everyone else that we love is here… it’s easy to get into thinking about the only person who is missing” Sam explained, understanding as always.

“I just… wish she was here” Blaine said, his voice tainted with a slight sadness that broke Sam’s heart.

“I know” Sam assured him, kissing him behind his ear in a comforting gesture.

“Do you think she’d be happy?” Blaine asked out of nothing, his voice full of hope and longing for his lost mother. “Do you think she’d be proud of me?”

“Love, there is no way she wouldn’t be proud of you. You’re perfect”

“Honey, I’m serious”

“So am I, B” Sam was quick to add. “If she could see all you’ve accomplished and the kind of man you’ve become… How could she not be proud of you?”

“I’m sure she would have loved you so much” Blaine said with an adoring smile towards his boyfriend as he let himself be comforted by more positive thoughts.

“You think?” Sam asked, reciprocating his smile.

“Yeah, if only for the fact that you make me the happiest man alive. But then she would have gotten to meet you, and boy, she would have loved how kindhearted you are. And you both would have shared your love for plastic arts, maybe even visiting galleries together whenever she came to visit us in New York. And she wouldn’t have been able to resist your sense of humor!”

“Like mother like son then, uh?” Sam said, trying to keep the lighter atmosphere even if that made him sound like an arrogant bitch.

“Please, I don’t find you funny at all” Blaine answered with a mocking roll of eyes.

“Babe, all I have to do is open my mouth and you’re already cracking with laughter” Sam reminded him. “You find me hilarious”

“And modest, too” Blaine joked as he entwined his fingers with those of his fiancé’s resting on his own chest, before turning serious again. “Do you think she would have been happy for us?”

“I think so” Sam answered, also more serious, as he nodded his head in affirmation. “People only need to be with us for like five minutes to see how happy we make each other, you know everybody says that. What else would a mother wish for her son?”

“You’re right” Blaine simply answered, and by the peacefulness that seemed to emanate from him from that moment Sam could see he really believed it. “I think I’m going to keep that in my head, ‘cause it makes me feel so much better. Thank you, honey”

“Glad I could help” Sam honestly answered before kissing Blaine’s hair again. “How was your day, by the way? Was it good… with your father?”

“It was good” Blaine answered with a nod. “It was great, actually. Probably better than ever, even before… everything. I think we’re going to make it”

“I’m so glad to hear that, babe” Sam answered, holding him even more strongly.

“And how was your day?”

“It was a lot of fun. Though I think Stacey was a bit upset that her favorite brother was not there”

“Aw, she’s so sweet. I’ll make it up to her this evening”

“And where is your father, by the way?”

“He went back to Cooper’s to have a nap before dinner. He said he’s getting old. It really looks like he’s aged a decade since my mother died” Blaine sadly explained.

“Well, it can’t be easy to lose the person you love in such a sudden way” Sam added, incapable of stopping a shudder when he thought how close he had come to lose Blaine when that cab knocked him over more than a year ago, and they were not even together yet then. “But hey, let’s stop thinking about sad things, okay? Tomorrow’s our wedding! Look around us, everything looks so beautiful…” Sam commented as he stood up and offered his hand for Blaine to take it and pull him upright so they could inspect it more carefully.

“I know. It’s perfect” Blaine agreed as he gratefully put his arm around Sam’s waist and accompanied him to inspect all the preparations for the day after: the chairs, the tables, the flowers…

“I might be getting a bit emotional right now” Sam confessed in a joking tone, though the brightness in his eyes belied his true emotions, so Blaine chose to answer him with the most loving kiss he could muster.

After the kiss broke, Sam brought one of his hands to the small of Blaine’s back and picked one of Blaine’s hands with the other. Then he rested his cheek against Blaine’s and started slowly rocking their bodies together in a slow dance, careful to press his body as close to Blaine’s as physics would allow it.

“What are you doing?” Blaine asked with a chuckle even if his body instantly began moving at the same time that Sam’s own.

“Dancing” Sam answered with a shrug of shoulders, as the answer should have been obvious. “We need to practice for our first dance tomorrow, right? I don’t want to embarrass myself. You know how I only know how to body-roll and I don’t think it would be appropriate”

“You’re ridiculous” Blaine answered, laughing wholeheartedly as he gratefully rested his face in Sam’s shoulder, knowing the taller boy was only taking care of him, as always, and wanting to make him feel better.

“See? You think I’m funny”

“I do. And I love you so much I feel my heart is going to burst”

“Yeah, I know the feeling” Sam answered with a happy sigh, looking intently and smiling at his fiancé as he raised his head from his shoulder.

“This cardigan doesn’t really go with these pants though, you know?” Blaine surprised his boyfriend with his comment so now Sam was the one laughing like an idiot.

“Really? Are you really complaining about…?” Sam tried to protest, but he was shut up by Blaine’s head coming to rest on his shoulder again.

“I love you so much, Sammy” Blaine whispered close to his ear, making him shiver with emotion.

“I love you too”

**********

It wasn’t much later than the happy couple made their way back to the hotel so they could have dinner with all their loved ones, as they had promised. They couldn’t be happier about how well both their families seemed to get along –Steve seemed to be amazed with Cooper’s Hollywood stories, and both their fathers were having an amicable chat about sports, as they were both happy to discover they supported the same basketball team–. Blaine kept his promise and spent half the evening dancing with Stacey, until Sam reminded them he was feeling lonely and they included him until the three of them were dancing in a mess of arms and laughing their bellies off.

Their friends were also having a good time, and Blaine smiled as he noticed how lovey-dovey Sebastian and Alex seemed to be, probably because of the romantic mood of the pre-wedding day. All in all, it was a nice reunion and everybody was a bit sad when it was over, though they reminded themselves that it would be even greater just the day after, at the actual wedding.

Sam was not trying to miss Blaine too much as he undressed and got into bed alone for the first time since he and Blaine got together, more than a year ago. He was ashamed to admit he was hating Tina a bit at the moment but come on, it was her fault! She should have kept her mouth shut, after all.

Fortunately for him, Blaine seemed to be in the same situation because not fifteen minutes later since they separated –and man, that had taken them like half an hour just because they didn’t want to say goodbye!– Sam heard his door open and close and some rustling of clothing be discarded behind him just before the bed dipped slightly under someone’s weight and some lips started deliciously kissing the back of his neck.

“Mmmm, that feels so nice, but I’m getting married tomorrow, we should stop this before my fiancé finds out” Sam joked, and he was rewarded with a soft chuckle almost immediately.

“Very funny” Blaine sarcastically replied against the skin on his neck as his arms closed around Sam’s torso and his hands made their way all across his irresistible chest.

Sam let himself enjoy the loving ministrations of his boyfriend for a couple of minutes and then turned around in his embrace, suddenly in a very strong need to see his lovely face, even if it was in the almost complete darkness of the room.

“What are you doing here?” Sam asked in a whisper, not wanting to disturb the romantic mood of the room as he gently caressed Blaine’s cheek with his knuckles. “I thought you were totally in with this crazy idea of Tina’s”

“Well, it looks like I wasn’t that much, okay?” Blaine answered, and Sam knew he was blushing even if he couldn’t appreciate it in the dark. “I can do with the no sex part, but I can’t sleep away from you. Especially tonight”

“Nervous?” Sam asked, throwing his own arms around Blaine’s waist to bring him closer to him.

“I don’t know. Not really, more like impatient or… ecstatic, I guess” Blaine explained with the most adorable of smiles. “You?”

“Same here” Sam answered, reciprocating his lover’s smile before bringing their lips together for a kiss. “I really can’t wait. This time tomorrow you’ll be my husband”

“This time tomorrow I’ll be making love with my husband” Blaine corrected him with a mischievous smile before capturing Sam’s lips again for a deeper kiss.

“I’m afraid this time tomorrow we’ll probably be so wasted and exhausted we’ll be passed out”

“Aren’t you romantic?”

“But I’ll be passed out next to my husband” Sam rushed to add.

“Aw, that’s kind of sweet, I guess” Blaine answered with a chuckle. “Ok then, we better get something done today, just in case we aren’t able tomorrow”

Without warning, Blaine climbed on top of Sam, straddling him to keep him in place as he started licking his way across Sam’s body, starting on his lips, only to continue down his throat and to his chest in a slow but delicious torture.

“I thought you said no sex tonight” Sam said just before a moan escaped his throat as Blaine gently bit on a sensitive spot.

“I said I could do with no sex, not that I was willing to” Blaine explained against Sam’s skin, not even taking the time to separate his lips from it to speak.

“Oh, okay. But I’m just doing it for you” Sam answered, though he suddenly grabbed Blaine’s upper body and flipped their bodies to reverse their positions, now he being the one to pin Blaine to the bed as he held his wrists at both sides of his head and started tracing his golden skin with his tongue after leaving him breathless with a passionate kiss.

“Yeah, I’m sure of that” Blaine answered with a contented sigh as he let himself enjoy Sam’s loving actions. How had he thought he would able to spend the night without him was beyond him, he thought as he threw his head backwards with pleasure and tried not to moan too loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just two or three more chapters to go! Almost to the wedding now! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God, I can't believe the big moment arrived!

Blaine woke up to the first rays of light coming through the window with a mix of peace and excitement in his heart that immediately made him smile. He was lying on his stomach, and there was a heavy burden on his back that it was easy to guess it was Sam’s upper body by the heat he was spreading as he comfortably used him as a pillow in his sleep. Blaine contemplated closing his eyes again and letting himself fall asleep again under the delicious weight of the man he loved –and the tickle his breathing elicited on the back of Blaine’s neck–, but he knew he had to make the walk of shame back to his room before the other guests woke up if he didn’t want to get caught.

Very carefully he tried to slip from underneath Sam’s body, but it was no easy task as his boyfriend was heavier than him and his upper body was lying completely on his. As Sam stirred at the movement, Blaine took his chance and escaped, hoping his boyfriend would not completely wake up, as it was still so early. It was not that he wanted to leave without saying goodbye, but he wanted him to be rested for their big day, and he could always leave a note.

As Blaine sat up on the edge of the bed and collected his discarded clothes from the night before from the floor to put them on him again, Sam woke up at the sudden absence of the lovely and warm body beneath his. He searched for him with his arm and, when he couldn’t find him, he dared open his eyes to try and discover his whereabouts. He was relieved to find him merely inches from him, his back to him as he put on his underwear.

“Hey” Sam’s morning-hoarse whisper broke the silence of the room as the tips of his fingers traced Blaine’s spine dotingly.

“Hey” Blaine answered with a smile as he turned around to give Sam’s lips a slow kiss before continuing dressing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you”

“What time is it?” Sam asked while rubbing his still tired eyes to get them to work.

“It’s still early. You can go back to sleep for a while” Blaine suggested softly as he stood up to button his tight pants.

“Then where are you going?”

“Back to my room”

“Why?” Sam asked, confused.

“Because we were not supposed to spend the night together, remember?” Blaine explained with a chuckle as he put on his t-shirt and sat again to look at his boyfriend. “I have to go back to my room before everyone else is awake”

“Are you kidding me?” Sam asked in a sarcastic tone, taking his hands off his face just so he could accompany his words with an equally sarcastic glare.

“What?” Blaine asked in total confusion.

“Blaine, we’re not in high school. We are grown men, you know? Gosh, we’re getting married today! Are we really going to lie about this?” Sam asked, not being able to keep a smile out of his face at how sweet and naive his fiancé seemed to be. “Did you really sneak into my room last night?”

“Well… yeah” Blaine answered, obviously embarrassed as he noticed Sam was finding the situation so funny.

“You’re so adorable!” Sam exclaimed, openly laughing at his partner.

“Don’t mock me!” Blaine protested as he playfully slapped Sam’s chest, even if he couldn’t stop a smile anymore. “Tina scares me”

Sam’s response was to laugh wholeheartedly and then to sit up so he could efficiently throw his arms around Blaine’s upper body and capture his lips in a strong kiss. He tried to keep Blaine distracted with his lips and his tongue as his hands wandered around his waist to pull at his t-shirt and roll it up to get rid of it, only to receive a slap on his hand that stopped his advances. Then he embraced Blaine more strongly, kissed him more deeply, and he went for the buttons on his pants this time, only to get his hand slapped away again.

“Stop trying to take my clothes off” Blaine warned his boyfriend with a chuckle as he finally broke the kiss. “I just got dressed”

“Why am I so naked and you are so dressed? It’s not fair!” Sam protested as he brought Blaine closer to him again and buried his face on Blaine’s neck to kiss and suck at the soft skin.

“It doesn’t matter because I’m leaving now” Blaine answered as he fought to extricate himself from Sam’s strong embrace.

“Coward” Sam said with a feigned pout once Blaine was free.

“Pervert” Blaine answered with a smile as he collected his shoes and carried them in his hands, wanting to avoid making any noise as he crept back into his room.

“You never had a problem with that before” Sam playfully complained as he let himself fall completely on the bed again.

“And I’m not going to start complaining now, it just can’t be right now” Blaine explained as he sat down on the edge of the bed again and his expression changed to one of pure adoration as he rested his hand on Sam’s naked chest. “Listen, we’re… getting married today”

“Oh my God, you’re right” Sam answered as he looked at him from his place on the bed and the sweetest smile broke on his perfect lips. “Wow”

“My heart is beating so fast I’m afraid I’m going to get a heart attack” Blaine confessed, his smile getting bigger and bigger by the second.

“Please don’t” Sam joked, as he put his hand over Blaine’s and entwined their fingers together.

“I’ll try, just for you” Blaine promised as he bent down to kiss Sam’s lips tenderly for the last time as boyfriends and then he stood up resolutely so he wouldn’t let himself be convinced to stay just a little bit longer.

“Don’t go!” Sam pleaded as he failed to catch Blaine’s hand to keep him in place.

“I have to. I’ll see you at the altar” Blaine promised with the most loving smile as he walked away from the bed.

“Hey, you” Sam called him as he reached the door, and he felt obliged to turn around.

“What?” Blaine asked with a fond sigh, feigning some exasperation at his insistent boyfriend.

“I love you” Sam reminded him, with no trace of joking in his voice anymore, melting Blaine’s heart immediately and making him wonder why the hell they hadn’t gotten married yet.

“I love you too” he answered with a last smile before closing the door behind him.

**********

Blaine hadn’t been able to fall asleep again after separating from the man he loved so much –too excited to sleep, he guessed–, but he had lain in bed for a couple of hours, reading for a while and then just thinking, and he felt fresh and ready to face the day. The day of his wedding. That he had to survive without Sam until they would reunite again in the evening. To get married. Just the thought of it was enough to put a smile on his face that he doubted he would be able to erase for the next ten years at least.

He was finishing dressing to go for some breakfast –they had established some turns so they wouldn’t meet at the dining room– when there was a knock on his door. Blaine smiled as he imagined it would be Sam claiming that he was missing him too much, but then realized that Sam would respect his decision of them staying apart for the day to make their wedding more special. Or maybe he wouldn’t, but he would never knock, he realized with a chuckle. So curious about who might be, he went to the door and opened it to find a very serious looking Sebastian.

“Hey, Seb” Blaine greeted him, trying to sound cheerful even if he was already worrying about his friend’s mood. “Wanna come in?”

“No, I came to get you. I need to talk to you, Killer. To both of you, you and Sam, actually, Alex is getting Sam right now” Sebastian answered, sounding even more serious than he looked.

“Is there something wrong?” Blaine asked, his heart beating like crazy. Even since he got that dreadful call from his brother telling him his mother was dead, he didn’t tolerate unexpected news that well, and that time was no exception.

“Well… why don’t we wait for Sam to be there too to talk about it?” Sebastian offered with a small smile, noticing how his friend was getting worked up and wanting to avoid it, so he threw an arm around his shoulders and directed him towards the elevator and into the dining room.

Sam and Alex where already there, as the rest of the gang, who apparently were just having breakfast together and seemed quite surprised about Sebastian and Alex getting the soon-to-be-married couple together in spite of what they had agreed to.

“Sebastian, what is the meaning of this?” Tina asked, rising from her chair to make more of an impression. “They were not supposed to see each other today”

“This is an emergency” Sebastian replied in a rush, not really caring about the girl’s opinion, as he directed Blaine to the chair next to Sam and made him sit. “Guys, there is something we need to tell you”

“What’s wrong?” Blaine asked, his heart shrinking with worry at the serious tone on his friend again, before turning to his fiancé for some answers, only to discover the same fear and confusion in his eyes.

“The airline called me and… they haven’t found the suitcase yet” Sebastian explained, even if his heart seemed to be breaking just because he had to tell them such news. “There is no way it will be here before tomorrow, if at all”

“But I don’t understand…” Blaine said in a barely audible voice, again exchanging a confused look with his fiancé. “Why is it such a big deal? Were your clothes for the wedding in it?”

“Yes” Sebastian answered with a sad nod, before taking a long breath to encourage himself to explain the rest. “Along with yours”

“Oh” Was all Blaine was able to say, as Sam’s hand quickly moved to grab his to keep him –and himself– from freaking out.

“Guys, I’m so sorry, I screwed it up so badly” Sebastian lamented, bringing his hands to his face in shame even if Alex tried to comfort him with a hand between his shoulder blades.

“Seb, you didn’t lose them, the airline did” Sam said, trying to keep calm as he stooped their friend from feeling guilty about something he didn’t have any control over, even if what he really wanted was to scream or cry or embrace Blaine. Or everything at the same time.

“But you trusted me with them” Sebastian insisted, looking intently at Blaine who still had to say a word.

“It’s not your fault, Seb, at all” Blaine immediately absolved his friend, even standing up to squeeze his shoulder.

Sebastian sighed in relief. They still had to find a solution for their huge problem, but at least he knew that neither Sam nor Blaine –especially Blaine– blamed him for it. But he still didn’t know what Blaine was feeling about it, and that worried him all the more.

“You alright?” he couldn’t help himself to ask.

“Yeah, I guess” Blaine answered, smiling at Sam as he sat at his side again so he wouldn’t worry.

“Shit, with all the suitcases we have and it had to be that one the one to get lost. Isn’t this a case of bad luck” Puck exclaimed, feeling bad for his friends even if he didn’t care about things like that.

“Or maybe it was a sign?” Blaine added, being the last thing Puck expected to hear.

“What do you mean? Everything else has gone perfectly, if you see this as a sign that everything is going to fail and you shouldn’t get married…” Puck protested because shit, nothing made more sense than those two getting married!

“What? No, of course not! No stupid sign would ever stop me from marrying Sam today!” Blaine answered, sounding almost offended at the notion of not marrying Sam in any circumstance, to which Sam smiled fondly, his heart melting at the devotion Blaine professed for him.

“What did you mean then, love?” Sam asked as he entwined their fingers together again.

“That maybe we were going for something too formal” Blaine explained, and Sam was relieved that he was trying to convince him that it was alright instead of freaking out about the disaster. “Come on, suits? That doesn’t really agree to us, does it?”

“Maybe not” Sam agreed, easily letting himself be convinced that everything was going to be alright by Blaine’s unexpected calmness.

“We should marry in casual clothes. Or all dressed in white, I don’t know” Blaine suggested with a chuckle.

“Or with no clothes at all” Puck added.

“Yeah, Puck, thank you for your contribution” Sam sarcastically replied.

“What I mean is… We can’t have suits? Fine” Blaine explained, trying to make a point. “We’ll have something else, and it will be even better. Our wedding is not going to be ruined by something as stupid as clothes”

“I knew I was marrying you for a reason” Sam answered devotedly as he grabbed Blaine’s chin to bring him to him so he could kiss him.

“Ok, so no suits, but it’s too special an occasion to just wear used clothes” Tina added, trying to help solve the problem. “We’re all going shopping right now. Let’s divide into two groups, so we can keep with the original plan about not seeing each other’s outfit before the wedding, and find something for those two to wear on their most special day”

“I like the idea of dressing all in white” Sam suggested, bringing his arm around Blaine’s body to bring him closer to him in appreciation for his idea.

“I do too” Blaine easily agreed, as he would have done even if Sam had suggested getting married in pajamas.

“Ok, so it’s decided” Tina said, anxious to get into action and save the day for her boo. “But you won’t see each other until then as planned, so hurry up to say your goodbyes and let’s go”

“I’m going to miss you” Blaine said, getting lost in Sam’s eyes and forgetting about everyone else in the room in a second.

“I’m going to miss you too” Sam answered just before capturing Blaine’s lips in a kiss.

“I love you” Blaine added against Sam’s lips.

“I love you more”

“Guys? We’re in kind of a hurry, you know?” Artie felt obliged to remind them.

“Sorry” Sam apologized with an embarrassed smile before turning to his husband-to be again. “I’ll see you at the altar, then” He said before kissing him again. “And this time is for real”

“Wait, wait, wait” Tina stopped everyone before anyone could take a step, and the panic on Blaine’s eyes and the guilt in Sam’s were not missed by the astute girl. “What do you mean with _this time is for real_?”

“Well… we weren’t supposed to meet at all today and you guys got us together for this, right?” Blaine tried to fix Sam’s slip –damn it, why was he always such a bigmouth–, but he sounded so false he knew he was not fooling anyone.

“Blaineydays, did you two spend the night together?” Tina asked him –she knew he would cave in way sooner than his boyfriend–, her tone full of reproach.

“Of course not” Blaine denied with an exaggerated chuckle.

“I was in my room the whole night” Sam tried to help him, even if he didn’t care about Tina’s opinion.

“As his room neighbor, who is not deaf, I can certify that 100%” Puck added with a satisfied smirk, knowing he had some information that the others didn’t.

“Oh my God, did you hear us?” Blaine asked, obviously mortified as the situation seemed to be getting worse and worse.

“Oh, so you got into Sam’s room!” Tina reproached him.

“Oh, he did” Puck assured everyone.

“And you had sex!”

“You bet they did”

“Blaine!” Tina admonished him, making him lower his head in embarrassment.

“Ok, we did!” Blaine finally admitted. “I’m sorry!”

“Excuse me?” Sam turned to him, as if terribly offended.

“Well, I’m not really sorry” Blaine rushed to clarify. “I mean… I know I shouldn’t have gone to Sam’s room, but…”

“Are you really apologizing for sleeping with me?” Sam asked, trying to show how outrageous that was and ignore Puck’s and Sebastian’s laughs at the same time.

“Yeah, right, sleeping” Puck sarcastically added, not being able to see Sam’s hand coming his way until he had already slapped the back of his head.

“Will you shut up?” Sam asked him, not so graciously, before turning to everyone else to give a speech. “We’re grown men and we’re about to get married so yeah, we got together last night and yeah, we had the greatest sex ever. I’ll give you more details if you’re interested. Anybody wants to hear them? Shut up, Puck” Sam ordered his friend as soon as he saw him opening his mouth. “And you don’t have to worry about our wedding night, Tina, I’ll want Blaine just as bad tonight as I did last night, I don’t need to be away from him for a whole night to just want him over and over again, you know”

“You’re right” Blaine added, nodding confidently next to him. “I appreciate your good intentions, Tina, but well… Sam is too great to pass on and we can do whatever we want, you know?”

“Well said, babe” Sam congratulated him, obviously proud at him.

“And yes, I went to his room and he is so hot and we were both kind of…”

“Don’t exceed yourself now, sweetie, that was enough” Sam gently stopped him before he embarrassed himself any further.

“Ok, sorry” Blaine shut up while trying not to blush too much.

“So if you all are finished…” Sebastian suggested while trying not to chuckle at his friend’s discomfort. “It’s not like we got a lot of time to lose”

“Yeah, let’s go” Mike said, effectively getting everybody into action.

“So since you offered to explain” Puck told Sam as they left the dining room, “that time when you screamed and then Blaine screamed and then there was a loud bang, what was…?”

“Shut the fuck up, Puck!” Sam answered, sounding if he really wanted to strangle his friend.

**********

So that’s how Blaine and Sam spent the hours prior to their wedding: looking for clothes to wear for the occasion –which Blaine didn’t think it was such a bad thing, as it kept him occupied and saved him from spending the day fretting–. Tina, Mike, Sebastian and Alex took care of Blaine, as Puck, Mercedes and Artie did the same with Sam. They were glad they were in Los Angeles, as there were so many shops to visit and they knew they wouldn’t have a problem finding something suitable for both of them –and Sebastian too, given his own clothes had also gotten lost.

It wasn’t that difficult for Sam to find the attire he knew he wanted: mildly tight trousers, a beautiful tank top that accentuated his perfectly muscled chest and a soft shirt to go over it, which he was going to leave unbuttoned as he knew Blaine loved. All white, of course, as they had agreed to. It might look a little too casual for a conventional groom, but being white gave it a special quality that made Sam look almost like he was an angel. Plus theirs was not a conventional wedding, it was _their_ wedding, and as Blaine had explained that made much more sense to them. He couldn’t wait to see Blaine in his wedding clothes either.

Of course it wasn’t so simple for Blaine: trying to choose some clothes with Tina and Sebastian trying to continually give tips and opinions and suggestions while arguing with each other –making it look almost like a battle to decide who was Blaine’s best friend and had more right to dress him up– was no easy task, and after the third time they insulted each other Blaine forbid anyone to breathe a word until he and only he –although he accepted suggestions from Mike and Alex– had decided what he wanted. And that was tight trousers, a beautiful silk shirt –with the top buttons left open– and a vest that enhanced his figure. And he looked so beautiful that in the end Tina’s eyes watered proudly at her friend and she even apologized to Sebastian for acting like a bitch –even if Alex had to nudge him so he would reciprocate the gesture–, and they ended up like good friends again.

**********

“Hey, boys” Mary greeted her oldest son as she got into his room where he and his best man were getting ready for the wedding.

“Hi, Mrs. Evans. You look stunning” Puck answered, pointing at her beautiful dress with unusual impeccable manners.

“Thank you, Noah” she answered, blushing slightly. “You look pretty handsome too. Do you mind if I get a moment with my son?”

“Of course not, please” Puck answered, already moving to the door. “I’ll go and see how Blaine is doing. Hopefully not as nervous as this one”

“I’m not nervous” Sam protested to Puck’s retreating back even when the shaking in his hands belied him and he was unable to tide his hair back in a ponytail.

“You should have cut your hair for the wedding” she unsurprisingly but kindly admonished him as she made him sit down and worked on his hair herself.

“Blaine doesn’t care about that” Sam answered proudly, letting her now Blaine didn’t expect him to change his looks for him, even for their wedding, only to look smarter. “And he likes it this way, you know?”

“I have a feeling Blaine will like your hair in any way just because it’s yours” Mary added with a fond smile towards his son’s reflection in the mirror, that was immediately reciprocated. “That boy really loves you, you know”

“Yeah, I know” Sam answered, biting his bottom lip in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the smile out of his lips, if only for a few seconds.

“That’s it” she announced as she finished efficiently tying his hair in a pony tail and got him on his feet.

“Thanks, Mom” he answered as he got so emotional he could only hug her with all his forces. “Thank you for everything. Thank you for setting an example for me so I could follow your steps and be here today”

“Hey, don’t do that to me, I just made my make up” she jokingly reproached him as she felt tears going to her eyes at his beloved son’s obvious happiness and the step he was about to take.

“Sorry” he apologized with a chuckle as he broke the embrace and let her hands be picked by those of his mother.

“You’re marrying the only person I’ve met who really deserved you, Sam” she very honestly explained, and Sam’s heart felt about to explode about how highly his mother thought about the man who was about to become his husband. “And you both are going to be so happy…”

“I know” Sam answered with a watery smile, as he breathed deeply to stop himself from breaking down. Damnit, hadn’t Blaine joked about how he would be the one crying like a baby on their wedding when he proposed?

“Enough with sentimentalities or we are both going to end up crying before we are supposed to” She joked with a last caress to her son’s cheek. “I came to tell you your father and I will be taking you to the altar, after all”

“What? No, Mom, thank you but… Blaine and I were going to walk down the aisle together. I can’t walk with you if Blaine has to make that walk alone” Sam explained to her, thinking about Blaine’s feelings, as always.

“That’s the thing, honey. Don asked us to” she explained, her face and voice filled with happiness for her son –her sons, because he felt Blaine as her own, too–. “He wants to walk Blaine down the aisle. He wants to do that for his son”

“Does he?” Sam asked, as if he couldn’t believe his own ears.

“It’s taken him a long time, but he surely is proud of him now. I guess he just wants to show him”

“Blaine is going to be so moved… I wish I could see him now”

“Well, you’re going to see him very soon, as he walks towards you in his father’s arms” Mary reminded him with a smile. “You look so handsome… Are you ready?”

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life” Sam honestly answered.

“Let’s go then” she said as she offered her hand to him, which he quickly took with a grateful smile.

**********

Blaine looked around him as the car carrying him, his father and Sebastian towards his wedding arrived to his destination. They stopped a few feet away from the place where the ceremony would actually take place, in an area where they couldn’t see or be seen by the people at the top of the hill, and it was there where he was supposed to wait for Sam so they could walk the final feet together.

“I thought Sam would already be here” Blaine commented, confused. After all, Puck had told him Sam was already on his way before leaving the hotel.

“Sam will be waiting for you up there” Don Anderson explained to his son, watching as the confusion on his young face grew even bigger.

“Why? We agreed to walk down the aisle together” Blaine replied without a clue about what was happening.

“Because… I thought it would be nice for me to take you” Don confessed with a deep breath, willing himself not to blush at his own display of affection.

“What?” was the only thing Blaine could say, as he looked at Sebastian at confirmation that he was hearing right, to which Sebastian only shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

“I’m your father and… I’m not letting you walk alone ever again” Don said, his voice not as firm and steady as usual, as he offered his arm for Blaine to hook his around it, hoping his son wouldn’t reject it. “Shall we?”

“Yes” Blaine answered in a whisper as he complied, almost unable to believe his father was doing that for him, not caring about what anybody would think about him hooking his arm with his male son, as he walked him down the aisle to marry a man.

“I’ll go ahead so I can tell everybody that we’re ready” Sebastian offered as he ran the rest of the way uphill.

 

Sam’s heart seemed about to burst with anxiousness as he saw Sebastian appear and nod his head at Alex, who started playing with his violin an instrumental version of _Heroes_ , the first duet they had ever sang together all those years ago. He put his arms around both his mother’s and father’s ones and let himself be lead towards the altar between the chairs that had been aligned for all the guests to share that moment with them. He saw his siblings smiling at him from their seats, and Cooper taking his place at the end of the aisle, where Sam would be waiting for his fiancé in only a couple more steps. His parents kissed his cheeks once they reached their destination, and Puck, already waiting there, patted him in the arm as he turned around to face the path he had just walked.

Less than a minute later Blaine finally appeared in the distance, and Sam’s heart missed a beat. God, he was so beautiful… And amazingly happy, as he slowly approached him next to his father, as Sam had never seen him before. He obviously had seen him happy before –come on, apart from the time Blaine’s mother died, they had been happy together each and every day of their life together–, but never like this. There was a sense of peace, of contentment, in him, like he knew that was exactly the place he wanted to be right then, as if all his life he had been waiting for that moment.

He looked so stunning on his beautiful white clothes –his normally already tanned skin had become a bright golden haven that seemed to spark with the light of the sunset, and his eyes seemed to contain every color of the rainbow in them as they fixed on his. And then a smile broke on his lips, a smile Sam knew was directed only at him, and he couldn’t help it anymore. Sam had never seen a happiness so raw and honest, and he knew he and only he was the cause of it, so suddenly he couldn’t keep it together any longer at that thought and his eyes flooded with tears he couldn’t contain.

Sam watched as Don Anderson took his son into his arms at the end of their walk in a strong embrace and his heart went for his boyfriend –almost his husband–, who shyly but decidedly reciprocated the hug until they melted in each other’s arms for the first time in years.

“I’m so proud of you, son” Don whispered at Blaine’s ear, though Sam was close enough to hear it.

“Thank you, Dad” Blaine answered, obviously moved but still serene, as he squeezed his father’s hands before letting go of him.

As Don took his seat, and only the grooms and the best men were left in front of the minister –that was Cooper, of course–, Sam turned to Blaine and tried to look at him through his tears.

“You look stunning” Sam whispered, eliciting an adoring smile on the other boy immediately.

“Well, you should see yourself” Blaine answered and he couldn’t stop himself from kissing Sam’s cheek, unused as he was to see Sam crying like that –even though he knew they were happy tears.

“Please, no kissing yet” Cooper joked to break the ice. “I’m supposed to be the one to tell you when you can do that, right?”

“Coop…” Blaine jokingly warned him not to screw it up

“Dearly beloved” Cooper started, after winking at his brother to let him know he intended to behave –more or less. “We’ve gathered here today to celebrate… I’m sorry, little brother, I can’t do it like that. I might have to improvise a little”

“Cooper…” Blaine warned him again, more nervously this time.

“Relax. You know I only want you to be happy” Cooper whispered to him, with the implicit promise of making the most of his speech, as he turned to the expectant audience again. “I want to thank all of you on behalf of my little brother and the man of his dreams for being here today to celebrate with them the most important moment of their lives. You’re all here because you love them and you want them to be as happy as they can be so you wanted to accompany them towards the next step on their live together. Because I’m sure you’ve never met two people more perfect for each other than these two”

Sam smiled widely at that and turned again to his husband-to-be, to let him know how much he agreed with everything Cooper was saying. And if he had to judge by the utter contentment he could see in Blaine’s face, he was thinking exactly the same, Sam decided as he picked up Blaine’s hand in his.

“I can’t believe what I’m going to say, but I don’t want to prolong my speech as I’m not the star in this. See, Blainey, I told you you could trust me” Cooper joked, chuckling as Blaine fondly shook his head in disbelief. “So if you are ready, I’m sure everyone here would like to hear what you’ve got to say to each other. Sam?”

Both Blaine and Cooper turned to Sam in unison, and the latter breathed deeply a couple of times to try to calm himself down and to stop his tears. There was so much he wanted to say to the man in front of him, looking at him with impossibly huge eyes and a doting smile, but the tears kept falling and they seemed to be forming a lump in his throat. Twice he tried to start speaking and his voice broke before he could even say Blaine’s name. He smiled nervously, trying to make Blaine understand he was alright, just too moved for words, and he was relieved when Blaine smiled back at him, letting him know he understood.

“I don’t think I can do this right now” Sam joked with a sob after his third attempt, to which everyone laughed fondly from their places, Blaine included.

“Let me go first, then” Blaine asked with a chuckle, amazed at all the emotion running through Sam’s veins as he caressed Sam’s cheek comfortingly before taking both of his hands in his. “Sam, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me. It’s as simple as that, and seeing you so moved right now as you try to tell me why you love me… just certifies that. We’ve gone a long and difficult way to get here, even if now it doesn’t seem like so because you made it so easy. We went from strangers to classmates to best friends and… to what we are now, two people so utterly in love and about to get married. When you asked me to marry you, I knew I was going to say yes before you even finished your question, ‘cause nothing had ever made more sense in my life, even if it came so unexpectedly.

“I know you don’t like me saying it, but you saved me” Blaine continued and when Sam tried to protest, Blaine hurried to stop him with a gentle finger to his lips. “You loved me even when I didn’t deserve to be loved. You didn’t move an inch backwards even when I was pushing you away. You believed so much in us that you made it impossible for me not to believe too. You never gave up on me, and today, here, I’m making the promise to never give up on you either.

“You once said that making me happy was your goal in life, and you haven’t failed for even one day since I met you. You are my lover, my partner, my better half and the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. But above all, you’re still my best friend” Blaine continued, his voice breaking with emotion as a single tear rolled down his cheek at all the love he could see in Sam’s gaze. “The one who knows me better than anyone, the one that always makes me smile, the one who makes everything better just by being by my side. And the one I love with all my heart. And that’s why I can’t wait to start this new adventure with you. I love you, Sammy. Forever”

Not really caring about protocol or conventions, Sam threw his arms around Blaine’s smaller frame and held him to him more strongly than he had ever done before as their tears mingled together. They didn’t hold onto it for long, as there was still a ceremony that needed to go on, but it was enough for Sam to take some strength out of his partner to put his thoughts in order and make his throat start working.

“Sam? You ready now?” Cooper encouraged him as they let go and Sam took Blaine’s hands in his again.

“Yes” Sam confirmed as he squeezed Blaine’s hands lovingly, turning his whole attention to him. “When I proposed you said I’d be the one crying like a baby in our wedding and of course you were right” Sam started, blushing embarrassedly as Blaine chuckled. “That’s how well you know me, right? And you didn’t care at all how clumsy and unprepared that proposal was, you even said there could have never been a better way. That’s how perfect you are, right? Except that… well, you agreed to marry me. You’ve never been the wisest man around, you know?” Sam continued, eliciting a few laughs around, including Blaine’s, who was completely unable to stop smiling.

“And even if you weren’t the wisest man around, you saw me in ways no one had ever seen me before. You believed in me when no one else did; you believed in me when even I didn’t. And you’ve made me feel so special all along the years… Hey, back in high school, when I found out about your crush on me –and sorry if there was someone who didn’t know about that yet–, the first thing I thought was that how someone as beautiful and strong and perfect as you could have feelings for me. Yet you did. And here we are now, all those years later, completely different people than the ones we were then, you are even stronger, more beautiful and more perfect now and yet you still have feelings for me. How can I not feel special, when the most amazing man I ever knew loves me and wants to marry me? When he agreed to share his life with me for the rest of our lives without a second thought?

“You’re right, I don’t like you saying I saved you because it’s not true: we saved each other. Because it was you who opened a new path for me when I was so lost. And you were the one who would always put his life on hold for me in times of need without thinking twice about it. And you are the one who keeps my home and my heart warm in the coldest winters with your honest love and your sweet caring, looking at me as if I was the most amazing person in the world”

“Not only you made me believe that dreams come true, but you made them true yourself. All of them, whereas they were at your reach or not, somehow you always managed. And the ones that didn’t… they come with a _yet_ , because I know somehow you’ll manage to make them true too. And there will come a day when we’ll look back at this exact moment, through the eyes of the people who have loved all their lives, and know we made the right decision. Because I also love you with all my heart, B. And nothing will ever change that”

Blaine sobbed quietly even through his smile as he brought Sam’s hands to his lips to kiss his knuckles in gratitude for his words and his love, not being able to believe someone could love him so fully and unconditionally as Sam did. A few other sniffles were heard above the guests, but Blaine and Sam were only concentrated in one another as both tried to control their tears and not to start laughing together at the embarrassment and the happiness of the situation.

“Not that I don’t know the answer, but apparently I’m legally expected to ask” Cooper intervened as he motioned for the best men to hand him the rings. “Do you guys take each other to be your husband until the end of time?”

“I do” both of them answered in unison with a chuckle, as they put the rings on each other’s fingers.

“And now… Wow, I’ve always wanted to say that, it makes me feel like we’re on a movie” Cooper continued, as he was clearly having a great time.

“Coop!” Blaine scolded him as Sam and everybody else laughed.

“Sorry. And now I declare you husband and husband” Cooper finally said with the sweetest smile towards the couple, not so far from tears himself. “You may now kiss each other, which I can see you’re dying to”

Sam and Blaine only spent a second looking intently into each other’s eyes before falling in each other’s arms to melt into their first kiss as a married couple, Blaine’s hand cupping the back of Sam’s head as the latter tenderly held Blaine’s neck between his hands. Even the clapping and cheering around them, or the romantic song that Alex started playing, couldn’t distract them from the most important thing: that they were, finally and forever, married.

And they had the rest of their lives to enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they're married now, yay! Don't worry, just the cerimony is over, we still have to see the party. So what did you think, was it too rushed? Did it make any sense? I don't know, I was happy with it at first but when i reread it... Let me know your opinion, please! Two more chapters to go!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, before anything else I really need to apologize for the tardiness (I'd never been so long without posting anything!). It's just that... well, it's been a nightmare writing this chapter, really. It was very frustrating because the story was flowing so nicely until now... And suddenly I had so many things I wanted to include and no idea how to put them together...
> 
> So this is the result and... I'm sorry. I hope you get to enjoy it anyway, even if this chapter doesn't stand to the others. Though at least is very very long!
> 
> Only one more to go! Thank you for being there and waiting!

As soon as the kiss broke, the couple was immediately separated from each other as everyone wanted to congratulate and embrace the boys –men now, married men to be exact–. Because of the proximity, the best men were the first ones, and Sebastian hurried to put his arms around his best friend to surround him in a warm embrace.

“You did it, Killer” he whispered in Blaine’s ear, eliciting a soft and grateful smile on the shorter boy.

“I know, can you believe it?” Blaine answered, his voice still breaking with emotion as he reciprocated the hug with all his forces.

“The fact is I do” Sebastian answered as they separated, looking intently into his best friend’s eyes. “Congrats, Blaine. You both deserve so much to be happy”

“Thanks, Seb” Blaine answered before being lifted in his big brother’s arms, who apparently had finished his role as a minister and resumed the one as the obnoxious big brother. “Will you let me go, you big ox?”

“My little brother just got married, let me celebrate it a bit” Cooper answered with a laugh as he spun the smaller man around.

“Hey, don’t make me a widower so soon, will you?” Sam jokingly protested when Puck let go of him and he could see poor Blaine trying to disentangle from his brother’s arms.

“Oh, don’t get jealous, I’ve got some for you too” Cooper answered as he let go of his brother and also tried to lift Sam from the floor –with a bit more of difficulty. “Gosh, Blaine, your husband is really heavy”

“But he’s _my_ husband” Blaine answered as he removed Cooper’s arms from Sam and put his instead, the smile on his lips so bright that Sam thought he was going to get blinded just by looking at it.

“Oh my God, how sweet does that sound?” Sam exclaimed as he dried the last of his tears and squeezed his new husband close to his side for a second before letting go of him so he could properly embrace his parents.

“Ok, time to celebrate!” Puck yelled over all the chaos of embraces and sweet words.

“We have to eat first, you know?” Tina reminded him as she waited for her chance to embrace her dear friend.

“Damn it” Puck exclaimed with a pout.

**********

Even if the supper was not a very complicated thing –again Sam and Blaine had opted for something more accordingly to their not-so-posh standards–, it was delicious, and the fact that the grooms and all the guests were sitting together in a big round table where they could see each other –while being waited by the girls they had contracted the catering to– made it all the more enjoyable. The happiness in the boys’ eyes was so evident, and the way they couldn’t keep touching each other even if it was just an arm around the other’s shoulder or a caress or a quick peck on the lips was so sweet, that the rest of the guests couldn’t stop looking at them and sharing their emotion.

They were just finishing eating the cake –while Blaine fondly stroke the Nightbird and Blond Chameleon cake toppers their friends had surprised them with– when Cooper took a spoon to click a glass with and get everybody’s attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I think it’s time for my favorite moment of the evening. Let’s hear the best men speeches! Hopefully Sebastian will have made a good use of all the sordid details I gave him about Blainey’s childhood and teen years to make the most of it!”

“There will be no need for that” Blaine tried to defuse the situation, but of course Cooper was having none of it.

“So Sebastian, you were saying…” Cooper insisted, pointedly ignoring his brother, and Sebastian looked mockingly apologetically at his friend before obeying and standing up to give his speech.

“I’m sorry, Killer” Sebastian apologized with his usual smirk that belied his words. “You already knew this was going to happen when you made me your best man”

“I didn’t know you were going to ally with my brother to humiliate me!” Blaine protested as Sam laughed at his side, squeezing his shoulder comprehensively.

“Well, then shame of you for not knowing better!” Cooper exclaimed as he motioned with his hand for Sebastian to start.

“Don’t worry, Blaine, you know I’m not that bad” Sebastian told his friend with a wink that only worried Blaine even further.

“Suddenly I’m not that sure…” Blaine lamented, trying to look menacingly at his friend even if that only elicited a chuckle on the taller boy.

“Let’s see…” Sebastian said as he rubbed his hands together, kind of menacingly, and raised his head to speak for everybody. “I’m just going to make this quick because I’m not good with words”

“That’s why you’re a lawyer then, right?” Puck joked.

“Shut up, you’re going next” Sebastian answered, trying –and failing– to sound annoyed. “Let’s see, I knew Blaine when were juniors and he came to Dalton for a visit, and I still blame the heavens that we never got to study at Dalton together. Well, no, I actually blame Sam for that, because I was this close to convince Blaine to go back to Dalton once and Sam had to go and remind him where his heart really was” Sebastian joked as he looked at the blond guy, both of them smiling at the memory. “Even if he did while both of them were ridiculously dressed as superheroes, trying to steal back a trophy and jumping from a balcony when they could have just as well take the stairs but… that was them, ridiculous and adorable nerds” Sebastian chuckled as he saw both Blaine and Sam blush as everyone laughed at their little prank. “And look how that turned up like seven years later.

“But let me get serious for a second” Sebastian continued, sending a softer smile towards Blaine this time that was immediately reciprocated. “Blaine is… probably the most kindhearted person I’ve ever met. I was a lot of trouble for him and yet he never gave up on me, always giving me once chance after the other, even when I was so past the line. He was the only one to see some good in me back then, even if some of the things I did to him would have deserved for him to never speak to me again… or even get me in jail!” Sebastian added with a shy smile, only half joking.

“Seb…” Blaine immediately interrupted him with a hand to the taller boy’s forearm.

“No, Blaine, I know what you’re going to say, that it’s all in the past and that it’s been a long time and all that but…” Sebastian tried, but was again interrupted.

“No, I was going to say that… I’ve not regretted it for a second” Blaine kindly answered, gently squeezing Sebastian’s arm. “You more than made up for any of that with your friendship this last year”

“I’m giving a speech here, you’re not supposed to interrupt me” Sebastian joked as self-defense mechanism, as he was suddenly too aware of everyone’s eyes and ears on them.

“Sorry” Blaine apologized with an embarrassed chuckle before Sam put his arm around him to attract him to him and kissed his cheek in a comforting gesture.

“And again, all these years later” Sebastian continued, even though he seemed to be getting a bit emotional himself, “he decided to only remember about the friendship we once shared and offered it again to me with open arms. He fought for me against everyone telling him it wasn’t worth it and then he gave me the best present he could have given me” Sebastian added, looking tenderly at Alex before turning to Blaine. “I simply adore you, Killer. You don’t even know how much. So my gift for you today, Blaine, is to ignore all the embarrassing memories your brother told me about you for my speech and keep them to myself”

“Hey!” Cooper loudly protested, only to be shushed by his little brother.

“Shut up, Coop. It’s bad enough he got to know them” Blaine replied.

“Oh, and believe me when I tell you I’ll make use of them someday” Sebastian answered threateningly. “But no, seriously. I thought no one would ever compare to Blaine’s generosity until I met Sam and he gave me another chance too. He trusted me with what he loved the most in the world even if he could hardly stand me”

“More like at all…” Sam reminded him in a joking tone that made everyone laugh.

“Exactly” Sebastian agreed with a hearty laugh. “That makes you even more generous and the perfect match for little Blainey here. It took us some time, but when you made sure I wasn’t going to hurt him, you welcomed me in your own little family with open arms, as all your friends did. Well, maybe except for Tina”

“And I’m not planning to change that any time soon” Tina joked in her best bitchy voice.

“So all in all, I can only feel proud to be here today sharing the most important moment of your life with you two, knowing that, if anybody can make it, that’s you. You’re really made for each other and you are an example and an inspiration for those of us who had lost faith in love and kindness until we met you” Sebastian said, raising his glass to propose a toast. “To the happy couple. I love you, guys”

“Aww, we love you too” Sam joked to lighten the mood, as he could feel his husband pretty moved while standing up to embrace his friend with all his forces.

“Yes, we do” Blaine whispered in Sebastian’s ear while in his arms, just before gently kissing his cheek. “Thank you for being the wonderful friend that you are”

“No, thank you for giving me the chance to be it” Sebastian answered with a shaky voice, squeezing Blaine more strongly to him before letting go of him to embrace Sam too. “And stop it, I’m not supposed to be the one to cry”

“Oh, everybody is crying today, don’t worry” Alex joked as Sebastian sat down and he was able to kiss his cheek.

“But I have a reputation to keep” Sebastian joked back as he dried a stray tear while Blaine, at his other side, comfortingly squeezed his hand. “Thank God now we have to listen to Puck” 

“Me?” the other boy pretended to be surprised. “Am I supposed to talk too? You should have warned me, I didn’t prepare anything”

“Puck, you’re the best man, you shouldn’t need a warning” Mike said while trying not to laugh at his friend’s antics.

“Hey, it’s me you’re talking about, don’t assume anything” Puck added as he confidently stood up. “Anyway, I’ll improvise. I met Sam… I’m supposed to start like that, right? I met Sam back in high school and we clicked immediately as he was the one of the only ones who never expected me to be anything I wasn’t. Of course he was almost as simple as me back then, so I guess it was not such a big deal after all” Puck joked, knowing Sam would appreciate his poor attempt of humor, and was not disappointed when he saw a smile breaking on the blond’s lips. “But we were bros, we had fun and we had each other’s back. That is, until I graduated.

“I’m ashamed to admit we totally lost contact after I left for Los Angeles. It was mostly my own fault as I was lazy like that at the time, and by then he had already found a real best friend in Blaine so I don’t think he was missing me that much” he only half joked, as he remembered the few times he had visited his old high school and how surprised he had been at the close and easy relationship those two had achieved in such a short time. “It wasn’t until years later, when I came to New York, that our paths crossed again. And it was not the best reunion at first, that’s for sure”

“’Cause you behaved like a douche” Sam reminded him with a smile that belied his words, and Puck chuckled as he saw Blaine gently reprimand his new husband for his bluntness with a nudge to the ribs, even if he was not the least offended.

“I surely did. But fortunately your sweetheart here gave me quite a bollocking and that’s how I realized that maybe this little guy was not that bad for my bro” Puck continued, sending a more than slightly tender smile to Blaine that was immediately reciprocated. “And that’s how I recovered my best friend. But not a bro like he was to me in high school, but someone who I would trust my life with and whom I know would do the same. I got to know the real Sam, the more complex Sam, the adult Sam that I hadn’t had the time to know before” Puck said, looking intently at his best friend. “And I know I’m not the most insightful and emotional guy out there, but I love you, bro. And in the time we worked together in the café, when he did all the job as I got to sit and watch, I got to love your sweetheart too. Not in that way, don’t go getting jealous now” he couldn’t stop himself from adding, afraid of getting too emotional. “You both are wonderful people, the kind of people I aspire to be one day. Without all the gayness, though, obviously”

“You were going so well…” Sam mockingly lamented with a shake of his head as Blaine and the rest of the guests laughed wholeheartedly.

“Well, I wish you, guys, all the happiness in the world, and for me to be able to share it with you. To the happy couple” he finished and, for once, he let his guard down and let Sam and Blaine envelop him in a three-way hug that he was happy to be a part of.

“Oh, this is getting ridiculous” Cooper protested as he stood up too and waited for the other three to sit. “I must say that you both, best-men-who-wouldn’t-take-the-chance-to-embarrass-the-sickenly-sweet-lovebirds, deeply disappointed me, so I might have to take the matter on my own hands”

“Coop…” Blaine threateningly walked to him, trying to stop him, only to be ignored.

“I know I’m not the best man, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to embarrass my dear little brother on his wedding day, right?” Cooper announced, looking at everybody while looking for their complicity. “After all, look at what a lousy job the best men did!”

“Hey, that was not the deal. You were officiating for a reason” Blaine reminded him, already fearing the worst.

“Oh, poor thing, so naïve even when he is already a married man” Cooper joked as he walked Blaine back to his place and pushed him onto his chair again. “Wow, a married man, how crazy is that? You’re only a Squirt still!”

“Coop, please” Blaine begged before turning to stare accusingly at his husband, who was too busy laughing at his embarrassment.

“Oh, don’t worry, little brother, it’s about to get so much worse” Cooper threatened, only half joking, before turning to his whole audience again –there was no doubt he was in his element–. “When Blainey here was little… Even more than now, I mean”

“Is this going to take long?” Blaine groaned, though he couldn’t help a little smile when Sam again put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him so he would lean on his chest and kissed the top of his head.

“When he was little he was a very easily frightened child. Every time there was a storm at night, he would leave his bed and run to mine so his big and powerful and handsome brother would protect him from all the bad things”

“Yeah, how wrong I was, ah?”

“And well, try to sleep with a five-year-old with no sense of personal space! I don’t know how he never strangled me, the way he clung to my neck! Sometimes he would even lie all over my face and not even care about it! He would not let go of me for the whole night. Is he still that cuddly, Sam?”

“You bet he is… but not because he’s scared” Sam shamelessly answered, though he ran his knuckles down Blaine’s cheek for good measure.

“I’m sure of that. Especially considering I was relegated to the sofa since you both got together whenever I visited”

“Obviously” Blaine replied as cheekily as he could muster. “And I’m contemplating not even letting you stay at mine’s next time”

“Don’t be like that, Squirt, I even put a room for you on my house!”

“On the other end of the corridor!”

“Well, I love you, but I’m not stupid. Nor deaf”

“Not again, please” Blaine groaned as he jokingly covered his face with his hands as everybody laughed.

“No, but seriously. And yes, I can be serious, and I’m going to be. Everyone here who knows me even if just a little bit knows how much I adore my little brother, even if I don’t tell him often enough” Cooper continued in a much softer tone, sending a knowing smile to his little brother that was immediately reciprocated. “There’s quite an age difference between us, so I can proudly say I’ve seen him grow from that annoying but adorable little kid into the fine man he is today, you know? And even if he’s always been an optimistic and cheerful guy, I’d never seen him so happy until he met Sam. Even before they were a couple, just having Sam near was enough to make him a better person, you know? And certainly a happier one. I met Sam when they were both sixteen and I went to visit my brother in his school and I selflessly gave a seminar in acting to his glee club”

“You mean in pointing” Blaine couldn’t stop himself from pointing out.

“Hey, I’m the one supposed to embarrass you, and not the other way around!” Cooper protested with an embarrassed chuckle. “Anyway, only a few months later, whenever I called Blaine he would never stop talking about his new best friend. How Sam did this, how Sam said that, how funny Sam was, how he had never had a friend like Sam… My brother can be really really impressionable and affectionate, too much for his own good sometimes, so I didn’t give it too much thought. How wrong I was, right? I only needed to see them together once to realize that whatever went on between them was no small thing.

“Way before they even started dating, they were each other’s person. I realized that the first time Sam accompanied Blaine to visit me and I saw them interacting with each other. They forgot I was in the room so often that I would have gotten angry if it wasn’t so sweet!

“It was in this exact same place we are now when I realized that, sooner or later, I was going to see my brother loving and being loved by the most perfect man for him. And fortunately time proved me right, as they just promised to love each other for life. Which I don’t have a doubt they will.

“Blaine, my dear squirt, is the strongest person I know and I’ve always been so proud to call him my brother. And now, on top of it, he’s found the most perfect person he could to share his life with, so he’s given me another brother to be proud of. I wanted to thank you, guys, because even if you’re still so young, you’ve made me believe in love. You’ve found your path and you have fought for it. I’ve never met two people more perfectly made for each other, and I’m so glad you had the chance to meet and run this race together. This is the finishing line, guys. From now on, you get to enjoy the victory for the rest of your lives. To the happy couple”

There was hardly a dry eye around the table as Cooper raised his glass as an invitation for a toast, but he almost dropped it as a very moved Blaine threw himself at him for a strong embrace that lingered.

“Thank you, Coop” Blaine said, his voice breaking with an emotion that made Cooper smile with a fondness Sam knew he reserved only for Blaine.

“You really thought I was going to pass on the opportunity of giving the best speech ever?” Cooper joked as he held Blaine with one arm and motioned with the other for Sam to join them. “I love you, boys”

“We love you too” Sam answered as he put his arms around the brothers, with no trace of joking in his voice this time.

“You all need to stop trying to make me cry” Blaine joked after a while, once he was able to let go of his brother.

“Trying?” Sam replied with a chuckle, as he kissed away one stray tear on Blaine’s cheek.

“Shut up, you cried like a baby before” Blaine reminded him as they sat again.

“Touché”

**********

The sun was all the way down when they finally moved from the table. Candles and soft lights were illuminating the place and giving it a very romantic atmosphere that wasn’t failing to affect anybody.

“Well, I think it’s time for your first dance, boys” Tina suggested as she neared the amazing sound system they had brought for the occasion.

“Wait a moment” Blaine pleaded, as he looked knowingly at Puck, who suddenly disappeared with Mike behind some nearby trees. “I need to do something first”

“What? Are you giving a speech too?” Sam joked, smiling confusedly at his boyfriend, knowing he was up to something.

“Kinda” Blaine answered, his smile only growing bigger as Puck and Mike returned with a guitar and a keyboard. “Though I’m going to need Puck’s help”

“What?” Sam asked, his heart beating with anticipation at Blaine’s surprise, watching as his husband took a seat in front of the keyboard as Puck sat next to him with the guitar.

“If you thought I was going to let our best men be the only ones to have their moment, you were wrong” Blaine joked, moved at the emotion he could so easily read in Sam’s eyes. “I’m Cooper’s brother, after all”

All the guests gathered around an expectant Sam, and his mother took his hand in hers to share the moment with him. When the first chords of a song he didn’t know gently broke the silence of the hill, Sam squeezed his mother’s hand close to his chest and breathed deeply a couple of times. When Blaine’s sweet voice filled his ears, he knew it was impossible to love any deeper than how he was loving him at the moment.

 _For all those times you stood by me_  
For all the truth that you made me see  
For all the joy you brought to my life  
For all the wrong that you made right

 _For every dream you made come true_  
For all the love I found in you  
I'll be forever thankful, baby

 _You're the one who held me up_  
Never let me fall  
You're the one who saw me through  
Through it all

Blaine’s eyes were fixed on Sam’s as he sang, softly caressing the keys of his keyboard as he put in words all the feelings in his heart. Sam’s eyes were slowly flooding with unshed tears as he listened, realizing that was probably the song Blaine had written for him and had refused to show him until then.

 _You were my strength when I was weak_  
You were my voice when I couldn't speak  
You were my eyes when I couldn't see  
You saw the best there was in me

 _Lifted me up when I couldn't reach_  
You gave me faith 'cause you believed  
I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me

Blaine gave his husband his special smile, the one he reserved only for him, and Sam noticed how his beautiful golden eyes were also swarming with tears, even if they wouldn’t affect his beautiful voice at all –he was a professional, after all!–. Sam immediately reciprocated the smile, even if his was a bit more watery, and he almost didn’t feel the kiss of his mother on his hand, so focused he was on his husband.

 _You gave me wings and made me fly_  
You touched my hand I could touch the sky  
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me  
You said no star was out of reach

 _You stood by me and I stood tall_  
I had your love, I had it all  
I'm grateful for each day you gave me

 _Maybe, I don't know that much_  
But I know this much is true  
I was blessed because  
I was loved by you

It was getting harder and harder for Sam not to start sobbing in that precise moment: he knew Blaine was being completely honest with his words, and to know he felt so much for him… It was almost more than what Sam could bear. And he knew that, in spite of all the obstacles they had had to overcome, it had been worth it if Blaine loved him like that.

 _You were my strength when I was weak_  
You were my voice when I couldn't speak  
You were my eyes when I couldn't see  
You saw the best there was in me

 _Lifted me up when I couldn't reach_  
You gave me faith 'cause you believed  
I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me

 _You were always there for me, the tender wind that carried me_  
The light in the dark shining your love into my life  
You've been my inspiration through the lies you were the truth  
My world is a better place because of you

 _You were my strength when I was weak_  
You were my voice when I couldn't speak  
You were my eyes when I couldn't see  
You saw the best there was in me

 _Lifted me up when I couldn't reach_  
You gave me faith 'cause you believed  
I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me  
Ohhhh  
I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me

The last of the chords were still sounding on Puck’s guitar when Sam couldn’t help it any longer and ran to lift Blaine from his stool and enveloped him in his arms, quietly sobbing as he buried his face in the smaller man’s neck.

“I love you so much” Sam whispered as he still wasn’t able to find his voice as he squeezed Blaine so strongly to his chest that for a second he feared he was going to crush him –not that Blaine complained, though.

“It’s my gift for you” Blaine answered, almost too moved for words after seeing the reaction he had gotten of his usual level-tempered and cheeky partner.

“Your love was gift enough, you fool” Sam joked as he broke the embrace enough to look at his husband’s eyes. “But thank you so much for this. It’s the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard”

“And I recorded it for your sample” Alex announced happily behind them. “I thought you would never sing it with more emotion than on your wedding day, and I was so right!”

“That’s what you were thinking about on a moment like this?” Sam asked, trying to hide his emotion after some light joking. “You and Sebastian are really made for each other”

“That we are indeed” Sebastian answered as he put an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders and captured his lips for a quick kiss. “So what now? Anybody else up to make those two cry?”

“You’re so funny” Blaine sarcastically replied, smiling at his friend as the latter squeezed his shoulder in apology.

“But seriously, what’s in order now?” Artie asked.

“Something that doesn’t imply getting this angel out of my arms yet, please” Sam replied while tenderly smiling at his husband and squeezing him strongly to his side.

“Awww, that was so sweet… I think I’m going to throw up” Cooper joked.

“I know!” Tina suggested. “Let’s have your first dance now, so we can have the party started and you can remain in each other’s arms forever!”

“I like the idea” Sam said as he moved to the open space they had designated as the dance floor, pulling Blaine along with him as everybody else gathered around them.

Tina smiled as she selected the song she wanted to play for her friend’s first dance as a married couple: _Your song_ , by Elton John. He knew how much they both loved it, and she also knew Sam always played it with his guitar for Blaine whenever he was not feeling good –physically or emotionally–. She had thought they would like for that song to be the first song they danced together as husbands, and she was not disappointed when it started filling the air with its first chords and both of them smiled while completely losing themselves into each other’s arms.

Sam brought his hands to rest on the small of Blaine’s back, pulling him impossibly close, and Blaine closed his arms around Sam’s neck. They both started rocking in unison, slowly, and it didn’t take them too long until they completely forgot about everyone else around them. Sam, still very moved and drunk on love, started singing in a whisper on Blaine’s ear, and the latter immediately melted into his arms and rested his cheek on Sam’s shoulder, practically nuzzling his neck as he stopped breathing for a second just so he could better listen to his husband’s sweet voice expressing his love for him through the words of the song.

Don Anderson watched them with a serene expression on his face. He had never been a very demonstrable man and it was hard to read him, but the almost invisible smile on his face –that only could be seen when looking for it– showed what was really in his heart at the moment.

“You look very proud” someone whispered unexpectedly at his side, and he turned around in surprise to find Mary Evans standing next to him, her face the picture of tenderness as she also watched the two young men melting into each other.

“I am” Don admitted with a polite smile, turning his eyes again towards the couple.

“As you should. Blaine is quite a remarkable young man” Mary praised her son-in-law.

“He is” Don agreed, his tone full of pride. “So is Sam”

“I guess that’s why they make such a good couple” Mary joked, offering a wide smile to her son’s in-law.

“Probably” he agreed with a chuckle, before turning serious again. “I don’t know how you all can speak to me after… after everything I did”

“Come on, Don, that’s already in the past. Blaine is so over the moon that you are back in his life… And we only want for him to be happy, so if he was able to forgive you, why wouldn’t we?”

Don looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, realizing he had not just gotten his son back: he had also gained another family. He couldn’t wish for a better husband to his son than what Sam was, and on top of that, he came with a wonderful family that loved Blaine as if he was one of their own. Like he hadn’t done for so long.

“I’ve never thanked you for taking care of him like you did while I wasn’t doing it” Don said, surprising Mary with the intensity of his emotions as he rested a grateful hand on her forearm. “He was so fortunate to have you… I know he feels so deeply for all of you. Especially you”

“As I do for him, Don. He’s always been such a good friend and then boyfriend to Sam, and he so needed to feel loved and to be included…” she explained, not wanting to hurt him with his words but needing to be honest. “He’s like a son to me”

“I’m glad he still has a mother, then” he honestly said as he turned to look at the boys again, leaving her speechless even if he was about to throw another bomb. “Listen, I have been thinking… Maybe we could all get together for a weekend after the boys get back from their honeymoon. After all, they’re going to be away for almost a month, we’re going to want to see them before they resume their life in distant New York, right?”

“Really?” Mary couldn’t help but ask. She knew Don was making a big effort to get his son back, but it was amazing how far he had gotten in his attempt to redeem himself.

“Yes. I wanted to invite you to my house. I once told Sam I wanted to get to know all of you better, and I wasn’t lying, you know?” he confessed with an embarrassed smile, as he was usually not one to be so open about his feelings and show so much of himself. “What do you say, then? Up to a gathering of the two families? Well, _one_ family now…”

“It would be great” she answered with a wide smile, resting a hand on his forearm. “That is, if you’re up to having two teenagers at your house”

“Please, never tell my boys this but I so miss having young and noisy people in my house… I haven’t had them since Blaine…” he said, and stopped himself when he remembered why he had stopped having Blaine in his house for such a long time. “Since Blaine grew up”

“I bet he was quite noisy” Mary joked, knowing about Blaine’s talent for music –and mischief, from every time he had seen him goofing around with Sam.

“Oh, he was. But can you blame him, with the big brother he grew up with?” Don joked, feeling more and more at ease with the woman as the conversation progressed.

“I guess not” she answered. “It would be an honor, Don. We’ll be there”

“I’m glad”

In spite of the sentimental mood, both of them had to smile as they noticed the other guests starting to dance around the happy couple, and how Stacey immediately went in search of Cooper –Blaine was busy, after all.        

“So if Blaine is my brother now, and you’re his brother, does this mean you’re my brother now too?” Stacey jokingly asked the older man, who immediately smiled at her sweetness.

“I guess” he answered as he feigned to think about it. “Yeah, why not? Would you like that?”

“As long as you dance with me” she answered with a shrug of shoulders.

“Deal” he replied with a chuckle as they started dancing.

Even if the ballad from their first dance was long over and more upbeat music was playing, the newlyweds still had their arms around each other and didn’t seem to be in any rush of letting go any time soon. It was almost as if they were not aware of their surroundings, or had forgotten there were more people around them, so comfortable they were in each other’s arms, their cheeks glued together skin to skin. That is, until Tina interrupted them with a gentle pat on Blaine’s shoulder.

“May I have this dance?” she asked, mockingly polite.

“Ignore her, maybe if we pretend we didn’t hear her she’ll go away” Sam joked, loud enough for her to hear, before finally letting go of his boyfriend when both he and Tina burst out laughing.

Blaine had danced with Tina, Sebastian and twice with Stacey, and Sam had done the same with his mom, Mercedes, also Stacey and even Puck at Mike’s insistence –though Puck had felt the need to jokingly remind everybody he was only doing it for his friend and was not into that kind of things– before they were able to reunite again. Sam hurried to cup his husband’s cheek and join their lips together for a quick but loving kiss before grabbing his hand in his and walking to the table they were previously sitting on. Sam encouraged the shorter man with a smile to pick up the flowers at the centre of the table and then they walked towards where Blaine’s father was standing.

“Dad, I was wondering…” Blaine started hesitantly, because he knew it was a tough issue to bring up with his father, but the hand on the small on his back, showing him all the support in the world, encouraged to continue. “Could you take this to Mom’s grave when you get back? I would like her to have it, as she couldn’t be here” Blaine’s voice shook a little at the reminder of his mother’s absence, but Sam immediately put his arms around him and kissed his temple to comfort him.

“Of course” Don answered with a kind and sad smile as he took the flowers from his son. “She would have been so proud of you tonight, Blaine. Which reminds me…”               

“What is this?” Blaine asked, his eyes wide with surprise as Don Anderson took a box out of the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to him.

“It’s my wedding gift” Don answered with a chuckle at the anticipation in both the boys’ faces. “Why don’t you open it and you’ll know more about it?”

Blaine looked hesitantly at Sam’s face, his eyes round and sparkly with excitement, and the latter nodded at him so he would hurry and discover the surprise. So Blaine obeyed, and the confusion only grew more evident on his face at the two sets of keys he found inside the box.

“What is this?” he repeated, holding one of the s in his hand and looking quizzically at it.

“These are two set of keys for the Bright Red Mazda3 that will be waiting for you in Ney York when you’re back from your honeymoon”

“What?” Sam exclaimed. “You got us a car?”

“Well, Cooper told me you didn’t have one. I was going for a Porsche, but he said you’d probably feel uncomfortable with a car like that” Don explained, happy at the astounded faces of the boys.

“This one is perfect, Dad” Blaine assured him, still too shocked to say anything else.

“It sure is! Thank you so much, Mr. Anderson”

“You’re very welcome. And now open the envelope. I promised you a honeymoon, right?”

“There is more?” Sam asked as he just noticed, just as Blaine did, that there was an envelope in the box, under where the keys had been.

“You leave tomorrow, remember? Maybe you would like to know where you’re going” Don explained with a chuckle.

Even more excited than before, Blaine took the envelope, noticing with a smile that it had the words “Mr and Mr Evans” on its front, and opened it.

“We’re going to… Philippines?” Blaine asked once he got to see the plane tickets with their names and destination on it, his voice catching at his throat at the implications of such a trip.

“Well, I thought it would make for a really really beautiful and special honeymoon and… at the same time… It could make you feel closer to your mother. You know, to get to meet her origins. And yours, by default” Don explained, moved to no end by the tears he could see forming in his son’s eyes, letting him know he had made the right decision.

“I can’t believe you thought of that” Blaine stated, his voice breaking at every word, as he let himself be engulfed on his husband’s side-embrace.

“I really loved it when I travelled there with her before you were born, so I know you’ll have a great time” his father answered as he took his free hand in his and looked intently at him. “And I thought it would be nice to include her in this in some way”

“Thank you so much, Dad” Blaine threw himself at his father’s arms and sobbed on his shoulder, for once not minding at what the older man would think about it because he knew he understood. “Nothing could have been better than this”

“Is it alright for you too, Sam?” Don asked, making sure to include his son-in-law in that, even if he had been thinking mainly about Blaine when plotting the perfect trip.

“Yes, of course! I’m sure it’s going to be a beautiful place, plus I’ve always wanted to know Blaine’s origins more closely, you know? We would have done that trip sooner or later, we’ve talked about that hundreds of times, right, love?” Sam turned to his husband, who was trying to compose himself as he nestled again under Sam’s arm.

“It’s true. We always wanted to see that part of me”

“She would have loved showing you herself…” Don said, and this time it was him whose voice break and eyes got glassy.

Blaine’s heart broke at seeing for the first time how much his father was still hurting about the loss of his beloved wife. Blaine had just married Sam and he didn’t think he could survive if something happened to him. To lose the person you’ve loved for thirty-five years… Moved by a sudden urge to protect his suddenly old-looking father and ease his raging pain, he threw his arms around him again and held him as strongly as he could.

“We’re going to be ok, Dad” Blaine told his father, wanting him to know he understood his pain and would share it with him. “We’ll get over this. Together”

“Thank you, son” his father answered with a sob, this time being the one to seek the comfort of the other, even if that meant letting his guard down.

“You okay?” Blaine asked once the embrace broke, looking intently at the man who had raised him to never show his feelings at public and was now trying to control his tears.

“I’m alright, Blaine. I just need a little time. But seeing you this happy makes it all the easier” he assured him with a sad smile, caressing his son’s cheek gratefully for his worries before turning to Sam, who had already put his arm protectively around Blaine’s shoulders again. “So I guess I have to thank you for that”

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Anderson, but…”

“Call me, Don, son. We’re… family now, right?” Don offered, already more in control of himself.

“I’ll try, though I’m not making any promises” Sam joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit for the sake of the other two men.

“I think I’m going to go for a little walk now” Don explained, though he hurried to reassure his son as he saw the look of worry that crossed his face. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m alright, Blaine. I just need to stretch my legs. I might ask Sam’s father to go with me. We need to start knowing each other better, right?”

“Are you sure?” Blaine insisted, still a bit shaken at seeing his father losing his stance for probably the first time in his life.

“Yes, of course. Please, don’t let me ruin your wedding. Go and have some fun, you two! I’ll be back soon!” Don said as he pushed them both towards the dance floor again before disappearing towards Dwight Evans as he had promised.

Sam could see how Blaine was still not convinced about his father’s wellbeing, so he took his hand and decidedly pulled him the rest of the way towards the dance room, putting his arms closely around him for a dance as soon as they reached it.

“He’s going to be okay, love” he tried to reassure him, glad when he was able to elicit a little grateful smile from him. “My father will look after him”

“I know he will” Blaine reassured his husband that he was not worried anymore as he put his own arms around Sam’s shoulders until they were moving completely chest to chest.

“I’m so proud of you, love” Sam said after a minute of enjoying the closeness to the person he loved the most in the world.

“For what?” Blaine asked with a smile, looking intently at his husband.

“For putting all those years of shit behind you like that and… having such a big heart. I’m so proud of being your husband”

“I’m not that good, you know” Blaine contradicted him. “I was so lost in my own pain that I never really stopped to think about his…

“That’s not true at all” Sam protested, kissing Blaine’s cheek with all the love in the world. “Besides, you had a lot going on for you to be worrying about anything else…”

“I had” Blaine admitted. “But even through all that, I had you, who didn’t let me fall. It’s so much worse for him, and he doesn’t have anybody”

“He has us, Blaine” Sam answered, and Blaine knew he was not just talking. “We’ll do anything in our power to help him, ok? We’re his family”

“I’m the one who’s proud about his husband, you know?” Blaine said, offering Sam his best smile, the one he reserved only for him, before cupping the back of his neck to bring him down and capture his lips in a powerful kiss that was immediately reciprocated.

“Stop snogging my baby brother like that!” Cooper, apparently a bit spirited already, yelled behind them as he smacked Sam on the back of his head.

“Hey!” Sam protested as he was forced to lose contact with the adorable lips of his lover. “You don’t get to tell me that anymore, we’re married now and I have more rights on him that you do!”

“Excuse me?” Blaine exclaimed, trying to look offended even if he couldn’t help a smile from breaking into his lips.

“That sounded better in my head” Sam tried to defend himself.

“Whatever. Squirt, grab this, I need to steal your husband for a moment” Cooper said, planting a full glass in his hands. “Steven Soderbergh is making a movie about strippers and I so want to get a role in it, so I need Sam to show me how to do that trademark body roll of his”

“I’m trying to dance with my husband here, you know?” Sam protested, even though he knew his brother-in-law would win the battle.

“Please, you were not dancing, you were making out and you’ve got all eternity to do that” Cooper explained, and he tried to ignore the look of absolute tenderness and cloying love the two lovebirds gave each other at his words. “Now B, if you’ll excuse us…”

“Glad to know I’m that useful to you” Blaine complained, though he laughed as he playfully tried to avoid the apologizing kiss on the cheek Cooper was trying to give him. “I’ll see you in a while, love” Blaine said more tenderly to his husband before giving him a quick peck in the lips.

Blaine couldn’t help but laugh as he watched the two people he loved the most in the world interact, with Sam patiently trying to show Cooper how to bodyroll and the latter trying –unsuccessfully– to look sexy while doing it. Taking a sip of his drink –and gosh, it was strong, what the hell was Cooper thinking about, giving him something like that?–, Blaine saw Mary was sitting down for a bit, probably resting even though it was obvious she was very happy by the smile she kept on her face as she watched everyone else dancing, so Blaine decided to keep her some company.

“Are you having a good time?” he said with a polite smile as he sat next to her.

“Oh, hi, sweetheart” she happily answered as she saw him next to her. “What a great party this is!”

“Don’t you want anything to drink?” Blaine offered.

“Oh no, thanks. I’m not getting younger, booze doesn’t agree with me anymore”

“It doesn’t agree with me that much either, I’ll probably end up a little too spirited if people keep giving me these” Blaine joked while signaling at his glass.

“It’s your wedding, get as drunk as you want” she reassured him as she lovingly patted his thigh. “So Philippines, right?”

“Oh, you heard?” Blaine answered, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. “I can’t wait, it was one of my dreams to visit the place where my mother was born. And Sam always said he wanted to connect to that half of me that was more unknown to him, so…”

“Your father was very generous”

“He was”

“Blaine, I know what you’re going to say but… I’m sorry we couldn’t make a bigger gift” she lamented, turning to him almost with shame in her eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Blaine asked, as if he couldn’t even understand how she could feel embarrassed about it. “You gave us the rings! It’s the most important thing in a wedding, right? And they’re so beautiful!”

“I’m serious, Blaine. Besides, they aren’t fancy or anything, they’re quite simple” she insisted, even if she knew how stubborn her son-in-law could be.

“They’re perfect” he answered, stretching his hand in front of him to look at his ring with a tender smile on his face, because to him it was absolutely perfect. “You know us enough to know we wouldn’t want any other kind of rings”

“Still…”

“No, Mary. Please” Blaine insisted, more seriously this time as he picked her hand in his. “You have given us, _me_ , much bigger gifts than anything money can buy. I know my father went a little crazy with the honeymoon and the car but… money it’s not an issue for him, and it’s the only way he knows to show his affection and repentance. But I would never trade everything you’ve given me when he was not around. There is no greatest gift that the love you’ve given me all this time, Mary, and I’ll never be grateful enough for it”

“Really?” she asked, although she could see Blaine was perfectly honest in every one of his words.

“Of course. I’m not taking Sam’s name only for him, you know. You and Dwight are as much my parents as my father is, and the fact he’s back in my life and I couldn’t be happier about it will never change how you were in it all along”

“I love you, Blaine” she said, her voice full of emotion as she embraced the young man she had come to count as a son strongly. “I’m so happy my son found someone like you”

“Not happier than I am that I found him” Blaine honestly answered once the embrace broke, just before taking her hand and kissing the back of it. “And all of you. And now enough sentimentalities, you’re the most beautiful woman here today and you’re going to dance with me”

“Alright” she laughed as she let herself be pulled to the dance floor.

Everybody seemed to be having such a good time as Blaine looked all around him after a while of dancing with his mother-in-law. Cooper and Sam were laughing their asses off about the older’s man inability to roll his body in a proper way; Tina and Mercedes were doing a choreography together to some song they had performed while on their first year in the Glee club as Artie, Mike and Puck cheered them on; Alex was manipulating the sound system as if he was a DJ while Stacey and Steve were going through the mp3 player connected it, probably trying to find some ridiculous song to play next; and he could see both Sam’s and his father getting back from their walk, chatting animatedly about something. The only one he could not see was…

“Hey, Killer!” Sebastian gleefully yelled as he purposefully bumped into Blaine from behind, his hands busy with a glass in each one. “Have a drink with me!”

“I just had one!” Blaine answered, amused at the slight though obvious tipsy state of his friend.

“But not with me! Here, I got your favorite!” Sebastian replied leaving no room for argument as he handed Blaine his drink and put his arm around his shoulder before starting to jump at the change of song. “Dance with me!”

“Oh, ok” Blaine laughed as Sebastian’s sudden movements made him spill part of his drink, even if he couldn’t seem to bring himself to care.

Apparently dancing meant jumping like a madman, and Blaine could feel his friend’s enthusiasm very contagious as he finished his drink faster than he knew he should. Puck and Mike were quick to join the friends, bringing more drinks even if Sebastian was obviously a little too intoxicated already and Blaine seemed to be well on his way.

Suddenly _This is the new year_ by A Great Big World started playing and Sam immediately appeared out of nowhere in search of his husband, his heart full of fondness and sweet memories from when they had performed that song on the Glee club soon after becoming best friends and Blaine moving heaven and earth to make him understand how special he was. He took Blaine’s hands in his and pulled him from everyone gathered around him –ignoring everyone’s protests, as he was starting to be the life and soul of the party thanks to his intoxicated state– and put his arms around him for another dance.

“What is this about?” Blaine asked, looking flustered with alcohol and happiness.

“This, my love, could almost be considered our song, you know?” Sam replied just before capturing Blaine’s lips for a sweet kiss.

“Oh, is it?”

“Yes, because it was with this song that you made me believe for the first time that I was special”

“Well, you are”

“ _But let’s get back to you_ ” Sam sang along with the song, his heart about to burst at the smile that broke in Blaine’s perfect lips.

“ _And I will wait for you_ ” Blaine sang back, his eyes never moving from those of his husband as he took both his hands in his.

“ _’Cause I would give the world_ ” both sang at unison, exactly like they had done all those years before, their voices still harmonizing perfectly together. “ _And I would give the world and I… would give the world to you_ ” they sang at the top of their lungs before breaking into pure joy-induced hops that brought everyone’s attention at them again, so everybody gathered around them and copied their actions until the song finished and the couple fell in each other’s arms amongst the laughs around them, Sam needing to support half of Blaine’s weight as he was starting to feel so wasted.

 “That was so sweet!” Artie exclaimed, having been one of the few to share that moment all those years ago with the couple –best friends then– and understanding the depth of their emotion at the song.

“And fun! Here, have some more drinks” Puck added as he placed a drink in Blaine’s hand and then turned to Sam. “Is your husband still so easy to get drunk?”

“Yes, he is, so stop giving him drinks!” Sam reprimanded him with a laugh, taking the glass from Blaine’s lips to take a long sip himself, ignoring the shorter one’s protests.

“But he’s so funny when he’s drunk!” Puck protested as he produced another drink and gave it to Blaine again, who gratefully took it from him.

“You’re getting so drunk, aren’t you?” Sam commented as he squeezed Blaine to him with his only free arm, fondly smiling at him and at how adorable he was looking in his white outfit, his hair starting to get really wild as his cheeks were blushed and his huge eyes sparkled in the candlelight.

“You bet I am!” Blaine exclaimed proudly as he buried his face in Sam’s neck, nuzzling his skin on purpose until he made him shiver. “But you still love me, right?”

“Right” Sam answered with a chuckle as he squeezed him even more strongly. “More than ever”

**********

The party went on until the early hours, and not even the oldest guests left until everybody was ready to go, they were having such a good time. They called a few cabs that took them to their hotel –with the more sober guests taking care of the most wasted, like Puck, Sebastian or Tina–, though Blaine and Sam were driven there in Cooper’s car, that offered to take them before going home with his father.

Blaine hadn’t wanted to finish the party yet –even if he could hardly stand on his feet–, and had protested effusively to the point where Cooper had threatened to throw him over his shoulder and carry him to the car himself, but as soon as Sam helped him on the backseat of the car and settled next to him, Blaine nested on his chest and fell asleep, snoring so lightly that it brought a fond smile to the other three men in the car.

“Oh my God, I thought he was never going to stop!” Cooper commented with a chuckle, careful to whisper so as not to wake his little brother up.

“Come on, he was just happy” Sam felt the need to defend him as he caressed the curls falling on his forehead, even if he knew Cooper was only joking.

“And drunk”

“But happy nonetheless”

“Come on, Cooper, give them a rest” Don intervened while trying not to laugh. “They just got married after all”

“Alright” Cooper feigned to surrender. “I’ll keep my jokes for tomorrow, when he has to take the plane and he can hardly hold his own head up from the hangover he’s going to sport”

The three men –and the fourth one, even if he was dead to the world– fell into a companionable silence as they reminisced about the wonderful night they had had and all the years that had brought them to that moment. They were tired, and some of them a bit tipsy –mainly Sam, who was not nearly as drunk as his husband but had had his own share– but happy. Content. Satisfied. And amused when Blaine murmured something in his sleep –he was still singing _This is the new year_ , apparently.

“Well, there you go” Cooper said as he stopped in the hotel’s entrance. “Do you need any help with that one?”

“No, I think I’ll manage” Sam answered gratefully as he gently shook the boy in his arms to get him awake enough to reach their room. “Hey, B” he said when Blaine slightly opened one eye. “Time to wake up”

“Is it morning already?” Blaine asked, completely disoriented.

“In fact, it almost is” Sam joked as he unfastened Blaine’s seatbelt to get him to move before he could fall asleep again.

“Is he going to be okay?” Don asked, turning around to look at the spent couple.

“Yes, of course. I’ll take care of him” Sam answered, not wanting for Blaine’s father to worry –after all, he was more than used to take care of the little guy, right?

“I know you will. You’ve always done” Don replied, surprising Sam with his serious tone.

“He’s my husband, after all” Sam answered, trying to diminish the importance of it.

“Thank you, son. For everything” Don said as he squeezed Sam’s shoulder before the latter exited the car. “I’ll see you at breakfast”

“Right. Thank you, Don” Sam said, a little bewildered at his father-in-law’s appraisal, before finally coming out of the car and pulling Blaine by his side. “Bye, Coop”

The car left as the two young men stood there for a second, almost tempted to wave at it even if they knew its occupants could not longer see them. Sam then turned to Blaine and hooked their arms together.

“You awake? Think you can walk to our room?” he asked with an amused smile as he saw Blaine looked slightly unstable on his feet.

“Of course I can, Sam, I’m not that drunk” Blaine protested even if he tripped over his own feet on the first step he tried to take and would have fallen right on his face if Sam’s arms hadn’t stopped the fall.

“No, you look indeed so not drunk” Sam joked as he held Blaine around his waist and silently directed him to the elevators.

“I’m not that drunk!” Blaine repeated as a protest, too loud for the time of night they were in.

“Ssschhhh” Sam immediately shushed him as he covered his mouth with a hand and didn’t let go until the door to the elevator closed.

“There were other ways to shut my mouth, you know?” Blaine said as he leant against the wall, trying to sound seductive though he only managed to make Sam laugh.

“Oh yeah?” Sam played along anyway, towering over his husband to trap him against the wall. “Like what?”

“Like this” Blaine answered as he captured Sam’s lips with passion and let himself be pushed as Sam grabbed his wrists and pressed them against the wall as he reciprocated the kiss with fervor.

“Interesting” Sam answered against Blaine’s lips before moving to attack the soft skin of his neck, still pressing him against the wall. “I’m even willing to ignore your horrible breath”

“You really know how to kill a mood, you know” Blaine answered with a chuckle before interrupting himself with some hiccups. “Sorry”

Both of them burst into laughter at the absurdity of the situation, and Blaine was glad that Sam was holding him upright because he didn’t think he would have been able to stand on his own, so tired and dizzy he was. And then the door opened when the elevator reached their destination and Sam gave him a last peck on the lips before letting go of him and gently pushing him out.

They walked the rest of the corridor to their room hand in hand, silently looking and smiling at each other. Then Sam proceeded to open the door with their card and pushed it for Blaine to enter.

“After you, love” he offered, but was surprised when Blaine didn’t move and instead seemed to get lost in thought.

“We just got married” he started, as if he was going to say something very important even if he could hardly vocalize because of the booze in his veins. “Someone has to carry someone through the threshold of our home”

“This is not our home” Sam answered, unable to stop grinning at his husband’s silliness.

“We’re not going to go home for weeks, so it will have to do” he pondered as he moved closer to Sam. “I’m going to carry you now”

“Oh, you’re going to carry me?” Sam asked, raising his eyebrows at the idea.

“What, are you doubting my strength?” Blaine asked, feigning to feel offended.

“No, I’m doubting your sanity”

“Just watch”

And before Sam could think about offering any resistance, Blaine, moved by a powerful desire to show his husband how strong he was and to keep an ancient tradition, put one arm around Sam’s back and another one under his knees and properly lifted him from the floor, trying to ignore how his own knees were threatening to buckle at the added weight.

“Oh my God, you’re strong” Sam exclaimed as he put his arms around Blaine’s neck, trying not to laugh at the effort that was so evident in Blaine’s strained expression.

“I’m Nightbird after all, you know?” Blaine answered as he managed to take a step forward. “Superheroes are supposed to be strong”

“Ok, you proved your point already, now let go of me before you seriously hurt your back”

“Not until we reach the bed”

“B…” Sam insisted, because Blaine was so stubborn and he had only been able to take like three steps.

“Sam, I said… shit!” Blaine exclaimed as he felt himself falling, finally succumbing to the weight of his husband.

They fell in a mess of limbs right on the floor, Sam practically on top of Blaine, still only a couple of steps inside the room, and it only took them a second to burst into maniac laughs again, after making sure the other was not hurt.

“You alright?” Sam asked between laughs when he was able to speak, needing to make sure even if Blaine could not stop laughing –he was drunk enough to be laughing even if he was hurt, after all.

“Oh my God, Sam!” Blaine exclaimed, all of a sudden.

“What?” Sam asked as he raised his head to look at him, momentarily worried that Blaine had gotten really hurt with the fall, after all.

“I’m so happy” Blaine exclaimed, letting himself lie completely on his back, his arms extended on the floor as if he was going to draw an angel on the snow, looking up to the ceiling with an expression of utter contentment and naïve innocence that immediately warmed Sam’s heart.

“Really?” he asked, looking at his husband –wow, his husband!– with an adoring smile as he stretched his leg to close the door with his foot –it didn’t look as if they were going to be moving soon.

“Of course! I have a husband that just happens to be the best and most kindhearted man on the face of the Earth” Blaine explained with the honesty of the drunkards, which moved Sam even more deeply than he already was.

“I’m not that good” he answered, smiling at himself as Blaine continued with his monolog.

“And you love me. Me, of all people! Can you believe that?” Blaine exclaimed happily, as if he was amazed by the turn of events –even if they had been together for a long time now and had been engaged for months–, making Sam chuckle.

“Yeah, I surely can” Sam answered, sliding closer to his husband to grab his hand in his and kiss it to show him how much he loved him indeed.

“We are married now” Blaine blurted out.

“I know” Sam answered, laughing again.

“But like really married”

“Pretty much, yeah, that’s kind of why we said _I do_ ”

“I feel like such a grown up right now” Blaine commented spontaneously, making Sam laugh wholeheartedly at his nonsense.                                                   

“You surely don’t sound like one, though” he replied.

“Are you mocking me?”

“Yes”

“Ok, so you’re not getting any action tonight, just so you know”

“Oh, we’ve been married for just a few hours and apparently the time to bribe me with sex has already come”

“Apparently so, yes”

“We’ll see about that”

Sam crawled the rest of the distance separating him from his husband and hovered over him for a second just so he could look at him. He was so beautiful… and right in that moment, lying totally spent on the floor with a soppy smile on his face, he looked so young and innocent… Sam knew very well how Blaine was so much stronger than he looked, in every possible way, but even then he felt a rush of love and protection urges towards the smaller man. His husband now. After all, he was now his to protect, right?

“Are you going to kiss me or not?” Blaine’s mockingly demanding voice took him out of his stupor and with a smile he lowered his face the rest of the way down and complied with his lover’s wishes.

They kissed slowly this time, tenderly, knowing they were in no rush, as they had the rest of their lives for themselves. Blaine put his arms around Sam’s shoulders in a sweet embrace and Sam caressed the top of his head, as if he wanted to memorize every single curl of his hair. When the kiss broke, and driven by a sudden rush of emotion, Sam let his head fall on Blaine’s chest as the brunet’s hands moved to his hair. Just lying there, letting Blaine’s touch and heartbeat lull him into a heavenly slumber, his brain started reminiscing about all the highlights of their relationship, all the moments that had brought them to where they were now. And he couldn’t believe how everything had worked in the best possible way.

“We’ve come a long way” he whispered, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness of the room.

“We have” Blaine agreed, his voice slurred with alcohol and sleep, but still tinted with a devotion that made Sam’s heart melt.

“And I don’t regret a single second of it”

“Well, I…” Blaine started, but Sam raised his head to look intently at him and stop him before he could say anything else.

“If you dare to say you regret hurting me when you were so bad, so help me” Sam threatened him, only half joking, as he slapped his hip for good measure.

“I won’t” Blaine surrendered with a blush and a smile, marveled at how well Sam knew him that he could even guess what he was about to say.

“Good” Sam answered, his stance fading into a smile as he gave Blaine’s lips a slow peck, just before resting his head on Blaine’s chest again. “Say it”

“I have no regrets” Blaine complied and, even if he couldn’t see his face, Sam could hear the smile on his voice –and the sleepiness.

“Maybe we should move this to the bed” Sam suggested, even if he couldn’t bring himself to move from Blaine’s comfortable and delicious chest.

“Let me rest for a minute first, you pervert” Blaine answered, by then his voice no more than a slurred whisper.

“I was not making propositions, evil-minded bastard” Sam answered with a chuckle, gently tickling Blaine’s side. “Come on, don’t fall asleep on the floor, let’s get you into bed”

“In a minute” Blaine insisted in a pleading voice and, as usual, Sam couldn’t bring himself to say no to his angel.

“Only a minute” he relented. “But don’t fall asleep”

“I promise” Blaine answered, already more asleep than awake.

Even though Sam knew he would be unable to keep his promise, he contented himself with just laying there, feeling Blaine’s warmth underneath his cheek, hearing his heartbeat that reminded him of how much the short boy loved him. He thought that maybe he should be disappointed that they were not going to celebrate their wedding more intimately that night, but he wasn’t. Just feeling Blaine like that was more than enough. And, after all, they were going to spend the eternity together, there would be enough time for that. They were husbands now, right? And yes, nothing would really change in their lives, as they had committed themselves to each other a long time ago, but at the same time, everything did. Because now they truly –and legally– belonged to each other. Because they had promised and celebrated their love in front of all their loved ones. Because now no one would ever doubt their love again. And well, maybe Blaine would awake later, hopefully without too much of a hangover, and he would be up to some fun.

He was softly humming a meaningless melody before he realized it, subconsciously taking care of his husband in a way –yes, wow, his husband, he would never stop marveling at the turn of events!– and lulling him to sleep. Not that he needed to, he realized as he raised his head again a couple of minutes later and he found the smaller man deeply asleep, his hand stilled at mid-motion on the blond’s hair from where he had been caressing it. Smiling like an idiot, blushing with embarrassment at the intensity of his own emotions at how proud he felt of calling him his husband, Sam kneeled up and brought a hand under Blaine’s torso and another one under his knees and effortlessly lifted him up as he knew he should have from the beginning –no matter how much Blaine tried to deny it, Sam was stronger than him and that was it–.

His heart melted when Blaine’s arms closed again around his neck and his head felt on his shoulder, implicitly trusting him to take care of him even in his sleep. And he knew how Blaine had been made to be a not-so-trusty person along his life thanks to the multiple betrayals he had been forced to face, so knowing he had his absolute trust just like that only made Sam feel all-the-more special.

“I will always take care of you” Sam promised with a whisper as he very gently deposited his precious burden on the king-sized bed, undressing him to make sure he was completely comfortable before undressing himself and getting in the bed to immediately gather his sweet husband in his arms. “Always” he repeated before resting a soft kiss on Blaine’s forehead, who just sighed and nestled even more closely to his chest, as if he didn’t have any intention of ever letting go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is "Because you loved me", by Celine Dion. I'm not much of a Celine Dion fan, but I thought the lyrics really went with Blaine's feelings, so...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, before anything else I really need to apologize again for taking so long! This is the last chapter, guys. I'm so sad! Please, enjoy!

Blaine smiled even before opening his eyes, as he felt tender lips resting butterfly kisses all along the naked skin of his back. There was so much love in those innocent actions that Blaine almost felt like screaming with happiness, and he would have if he didn’t feel so damn tired and under-slept. So instead he just sighed contentedly as Sam’s lips found their way between his shoulder blades, but it was enough to let the taller boy know that he was now awake –which had probably been his purpose on the first place.

“Morning, hubby” Sam whispered, not wanting to break the peacefulness of the place, as he moved his kisses to the more intimate skin on Blaine’s neck.

“Mmmm” was still the only thing Blaine was able to articulate, but he managed to raise his face slightly to give Sam’s lips better access to the side of his neck while he lay unmoving on his belly.

“I like how it sounds, I think I’m always going to call you _hubby_ from now on” Sam continued in a tender tone against Blaine skin, while his long bangs tickled on the sensitive skin under the latter’s chin. “Or Mr. Evans”

“I won’t complain either way” Blaine answered once his brain was able to put some words together, before turning around on his back and cupping Sam’s cheeks to bring his face down and capture his lips in a slow kiss. “Morning, love”

It was then when Blaine finally opened his eyes, and the light coming through the window embedded in his eyes as if it was made of blades, reminding him of the nice hangover he was sporting and making him loudly groan before he realized it.

“Headache?” Sam asked with a sympathetic smile, taking the time to gently message his husband’s temples while his upper body was still laying practically on top of the other boy’s one.

“You bet” Blaine confessed, closing his eyes again to keep the headache at bay.

“Poor thing” Sam lamented as he lowered his face to kiss the brunet again. “Not that it’s a surprise, of course, considering yesterday you drank like a fish”

“It’s not my fault if everybody thinks it’s so funny getting me drunk and kept putting drinks in my hands” Blaine protested with a pout, eliciting a heartfelt laugh from his husband.

“Well, you could have said no” Sam reminded him a cheeky smirk.

“I really couldn’t” Blaine answered, this time smiling himself as he opened his eyes to look at his beautiful husband –wow, he _was_ his husband, how crazy was that?–. “Ok, I’m an alcoholic, happy? Do you still love me?”

“To infinity and beyond” Sam answered, laughing at Blaine’s groan at his choice of words.

“God, I married Buzz Lightyear” Blaine lamented, playfully shaking his head in disgust.

“Yeah, but do you see this ring?” Sam joked back, planting the back of his hand in Blaine’s immediate line of vision. “It means it’s too late to back down now”

“I didn’t say I wanted to” Blaine answered, more tenderly this time, as he took his time to caress Sam’s cheek with the back of his own hand so the latter would feel the cool touch of his own ring. “I’ll be the Woody to your Buzz”

“Awwww” Sam exclaimed with a smile. “But wait, those two aren’t even gay”

“Oh pleeeeease, have you seen the movies?”

“Then, as absurd as it sounds, it’s incredibly romantic. Now kiss me”

“You kiss me” Blaine protested cheekily, eliciting a chuckle from his husband.

“Ok” Sam relented as he lowered his face and captured Blaine’s lips in a slow kiss.

“Gosh, my head really hurts” Blaine complained once the kiss broke, covering his eyes with his hand for a second to try and make it better.

“And your breath is not that much better” Sam joked, only to receive a playful slap on his hip as a protest.

“Well, thanks, how romantic of you” Blaine sarcastically replied, although by the tiny smile on his face Sam could tell he was not really offended.

“Of course I am romantic, I’m kissing you anyway, am I not?” Sam answered as he kissed him again before starting to separate from him –though Blaine’s arms immediately detected the movement and closed around him to stop him–. “You go and have a shower, I’ll go and ask the clerk for some painkillers or something”

“What? You’re not going to shower with me?” Blaine complained, visibly pouting for good measure, although it didn’t have the desired effect and Sam only laughed at him.

“Then who is going to get you the painkillers?” Sam replied even if he let himself be stopped by Blaine’s embrace and didn’t move an inch from the shorter boy yet.

“Screw the painkillers, I only need you” Blaine answered, his voice getting hoarser with desire, ad he cupped the back of Sam’s head and pulled him down to him to kiss him much more deeply that time.

“That’s what I wanted to hear” Sam answered against Blaine’s lips as he let himself get lost in the kiss –for a second–. “Too bad it’s too late for that if we want to have breakfast with everyone”

“Screw them too, I still only need you. Why are you so dressed, by the way?” Blaine insisted as he searched for Sam’s lips again, though he didn’t find them as Sam managed to lift himself from Blaine’s body this time.

“Because I’ve been up for a while and I already had my shower and everything. And considering we’re going away for a month, I think it would be kind of rude to just miss breakfast with our guests” Sam explained, looking at his husband from his sitting position and trying not to laugh at his offended expression.

“Why do you have to be so considerate?” Blaine protested as he, now liberated from Sam’s weight, turned on his side and curled more comfortably under the covers.

“Because I had the best teacher and because I know you’d feel guilty later and I don’t want that” Sam replied as he took the covers and pull them away from Blaine’s reach in one swift movement. “Get going, come on” Sam ordered his husband with a grin and a slap to Blaine’s rear as the latter refused to move.

“I’m staying here with or without you” Blaine protested as if he was a spoilt child, which only encouraged Sam further to act.

“Come on, get up now, come on!” he insisted as he kept relentlessly shaking Blaine’s body and tickling it until the latter couldn’t almost breathe with laughter.

“Alright, alright, I’m up!” Blaine surrendered as he sat up on the bed to stop his husband’s antics. “Gosh, I didn’t think I was going to regret this so soon!”

“I love you too” Sam joked as he bent over to kiss Blaine’s temple in apology for disappointing him, even if he knew it was all acting. “I’m going to find you those painkillers while you have a shower. I’ll be right back”

Sam waited until Blaine was on his feet –so he wouldn’t risk for him to fall asleep again, which he seemed about to do– and arduously dragging his feet towards the bathroom before he dared to move towards the door of the room himself in search of those painkillers that might make his husband feel better –hadn’t he promised to always take care of him only a few hours before, after all?

“Hey, hubby” Blaine’s more alert voice sounded behind him, making his heart melt at the choice of words before he turned around to look at him.

“Yes?” he answered playfully.

“I don’t really regret it, you know?” Blaine answered while adoringly scrunching his face, pointing at the ring on his left ring finger with the index of his other hand.

“I knew it!” Sam joked as if a big confession had been made, pointing his finger at Blaine and winking at him before both them burst into laughter.

**********

Blaine was just getting out of the shower as Sam returned to the room with the painkillers –that Blaine took with a grateful smile–, and the latter had to use every ounce of his self control as Blaine dropped his towel and started getting dressed in front of him –so terribly slowly, gosh, he had to be doing it on purpose– so he wouldn’t jump on him. But he had not been joking, it was late and they were leaving after breakfast, they needed to be downstairs with everybody they loved to say their goodbyes and thank them for their presence.

Some of the others were already at the dining room, waiting for them all to be there to start eating when they arrived, and most of them were looking equally –or worse– hungover than Blaine himself. Tina looked about to cry, and Puck –who probably was there only because Artie had forced him– was wearing his sunglasses even if they were indoors. Sebastian had his arms crossed on the table with his head resting on them, presumably asleep as Alex looked amusedly at him.

“Oh, such a good pillow” Blaine exclaimed as he copied his friend’s posture, only on top of him, to which Sebastian only grunted at the intrusion but didn’t really complain.

“I guess we can easily guess who were the ones who drank the most last night” Sam joked as he smiled fondly at his husband, who seemed to be asleep already again while resting on the back of Sebastian’s neck.

“Shut the fuck up, Evans” Puck groaned in response, because apparently Sam had been speaking too loudly for his taste.

“Grumpy, aren’t we?” Sam asked while trying not to laugh, seeing as his friend didn’t seem to be up for jokes, but Puck only groaned in response. “Is anyone conscious here anyway?”

“I am” Artie answered, chuckling as Tina almost broke her head when it unexpectedly fell backwards as she nodded off.

“Well, while we wait for our families to arrive, hopefully in a better state that you lot, Blaine and I wanted to thank you all for being here those two days. Right, B?” Sam said, turning to his boyfriend, but he was too dead to the world to answer, so Sam pointedly pocked him on his side, only to get a grunt in response. “B? So much for _in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad_ ”

“Let him be, poor thing” Mercedes intervened with a snort as Sam kept pocking his husband just to annoy him. “It’s not his fault that these suckers found it so funny to get him drunk”

“You’re right, it’s not my angel’s fault” Sam agreed with a smile as he stopped bothering his husband and instead rested a kiss on the back of his head. “I blame you, guys”

“Yeah, well, you’ll have to blame them when they regain consciousness” Alex laughed as he watched his boyfriend and his friend sleeping, one on top of the other.

“Good morning, young’uns!” A familiar and terribly annoying voice sounded loudly behind them, and Mike, Artie, Mercedes, Alex and Sam laughed wholeheartedly as the others grunted at the unexpected noise.

“Shut the fuck up, Anderson” Puck protested again as he watched Cooper enter the dining room.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Puckerman, do you have a headache?” Cooper replied in a loud tone as he shamelessly slapped Puck’s back. “And why would that be?”

“Probably because of annoying bastards shouting first thing in the morning” Puck protested as he not-so-innocently pushed Cooper away from him.

“Morning, little brother!” Cooper continued, still very loudly, as he carelessly patted his little brother’s back with more force than needed, making Blaine’s upper body fall from Sebastian’s, and would have ended on the floor if not for Sam’s quick intervention, who carefully grabbed his head before he could hit the table.

“Damn you, Cooper” Blaine protested, finally awake, as he tried to nestle against Sam’s chest, taking advantage of the arms around him.

“Oh no, no, you don’t” Sam denied him the chance, moving a bit away so Blaine would be forced to sit upright on his own, even if he felt a bit guilty when his husband visibly pouted so he hurried to explain. “You would fall asleep again”

“You’re mean” Blaine protested, but he managed to smile a little as he heard some chuckles around him.

“I’m not, my family is about to arrive and I know you wouldn’t want them to see you like that. I already had your father seeing me drunk on the night of _Les miserables_ opening and I can tell you I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life”

“Why? It was quite funny” Don Anderson, who Sam had not acknowledged yet, intervened as he also sat to the table, making Sam blush instantly.

“Oh God” Sam groaned as Blaine chuckled at his side. “I mean, good morning, Don”

“Good morning, everyone” Don greeted his son’s friends, feeling more and more comfortable around them the more he got to know them. “So some of you look worse for the wear, guys. Including you, Blaine”

“Thanks, Dad” Blaine sarcastically replied, already more awake and alert, the painkillers Sam had gotten for him starting to take effect.

Finally the Evans made it to the dining room and everyone spend a nice time with each other as they had breakfast (even the ones with the worst hangover, who were starting to wake up at the delicious smell of the food). Unfortunately, Sam and Blaine couldn’t stay for long, as their flight wasn’t going to wait for them, and as soon as they finished eating, they knew it was time to say goodbye –which ended up being more difficult than expected, after all the emotions shared in the last two days.

“You’re going to be okay, right, Dad?” Blaine asked his father as he embraced him with all his forces.

“Oh, please, of course I will, don’t go ruining your honeymoon worrying about me, you hear me?” Don ordered him, trying to sound stern even if he couldn’t help smiling at the worried face of his son in the end. “I’m staying here with your brother for a few more days and then… I’ve got out family gathering once you’re back to look forward to”

“I will call you to see how you’re doing”

“No, you will call me to tell me what a wonderful time you’re having with your husband”

“Deal” Blaine answered with a smile as he embraced his father one last time.

“Now you’re sure you’re taking everything you need with you?” Mary asked her oldest son meanwhile for what seemed like the hundredth time. “Do you have your passports?”

“Yes, we have, Mom” Sam confirmed, patting the front pocket of his shirt to show her he had them all good and ready.

“Put a lot of sun lotion on you if it’s too sunny, and tell Blaine to put some on your back too, you know how easily you get sunburned. And make sure that Blaine puts some on him too, I know he thinks he doesn’t get sunburned but you never know. And please, make sure to…”

“Mom! Please! Stop it already, we’re not teenagers anymore!” Sam stopped her string of warnings with a chuckle. “We just got married, you know?”

“I know, son, I’m sorry” she answered, reciprocating his smile. “I know you’re a grown up and everything but… to me you will always be my little boy”

“Aw, come here” Sam said as he took her in his arms and devotedly kissed her cheek. “We’re going to miss you so much”

“Call me” she warned him when the embrace broke, pointing her finger at his face for good measure.

“We will, I promise”

“And look after each other”

“You really think you need to remind us of that?” Sam asked, laughing again.

“No, I really don’t. And now go, before you start getting emotional” she ordered as her eyes started getting glassy.

“ _I_ ’m going to start getting emotional?” Sam asked with a chuckle as he fondly pinched her cheek.

“Yes, go and have the time of your lives” Mary answered as she pushed him away so she could embrace her son-in-law too.

Only when absolutely everyone had been properly hugged and Sam could see Blaine was on the verge of tears of emotion, he said a final goodbye to everyone and pulled his husband with him towards the door, where Cooper was waiting for them to take them to the airport. Yes, they loved everyone in that room very much. And yes, they were going to miss them terribly. But they were also going to have the time of their lives and start their married life in the best possible way. So yes, things were looking pretty good, Sam thought as he entered the car after his husband and took his hand to entwine their fingers together.

**********

The flight was a long one. Fortunately, none of them were afraid of planes, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to get bored or restless after a few hours. Blaine, still recovering from his hangover, took a little nap, perched on Sam’s chest, and had to endure like five minutes of Sam laughing at him when he woke up and they discovered he had drooled a little on Sam’s t-shirt. Then, when Blaine stopped pretending he was annoyed at the other boy for laughing at him, they watched a movie together. And after that, it was Sam who nodded off for a while and when he woke up, he found his husband writing something in a little notebook.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked with a yawn as he turned to look at his husband, who immediately stopped writing to give him his whole attention with a smile.

“I’m making a list about all the places we need to visit once we’re there” Blaine answered, and there was so much enthusiasm in his voice that Sam found it impossible to not smile back at him.

“That’s nice” Sam answered as he took the notebook from Blaine’s hand to take a look at it. “Wow, there are a lot! If I wasn’t positive that you found out about our destination just yesterday, I would think you’d done a lot of research!”

“Well, I’ve done a lot of research through the years, you know I always wanted to go there someday” Blaine answered with a shy smile as he took his notebook back to revise he hadn’t forgotten anything.

“So did I, I’ve always wanted to visit your origins and if there is a way to know you and understand you more deeply…” Sam answered, and Blaine looked at him in awe, thinking how it was impossible to love someone more deeply than how he loved Sam in that moment.

“Honey, I don’t think you can know me better than you already do” Blaine replied, looking adoringly at his husband to the point that Sam felt the need to joke and lighten the atmosphere if he didn’t want to start crying.

“Well, then I want to see the place where they make people as beautiful as you are”

“Uh, that was smooth”

“Do I get a kiss, at least?” Sam joked, sticking out his delicious lips for Blaine to capture them.

“And as many as you want” Blaine chuckled before obeying, taking his time to savor Sam’s lips as they deserved before changing the subject. “Do you think we could visit my mother’s town? It’s just a small village and probably doesn’t hold any special touristic interest, but…”

“Of course we will, sweetie” Sam answered, not even giving him the chance to finish his request, as he covered Blaine’s hand, resting on the armrest between them, with his own. “We’ll visit everything you want”

“Thanks, honey”

“Although we also need some time for ourselves, to rest and… you know… consummate” Sam added in a whisper, trying to look seductive, even if he only managed to make Blaine laugh wholeheartedly.

“To what?” he asked between laughs.

“You know, technically we are not even really married because last night you were too plastered and tired to consummate our marriage” Sam explained, letting Blaine’s contagious laughter evoke a wide smile on his own lips.

“Oh, come on, I can’t believe you’re throwing that to my face!” Blaine answered, failing to even pretend he was outraged because he couldn’t stop laughing. “You were just as tired as I was, I just fell asleep first!”

“Please, I’ll never be too tired to perform!” Sam answered, feigning to be offended at the notion.

“Oh, excuse me, Mr. Performer, but it was you telling me the night before that we would be too drunk and spent to have sex! And that’s why we did it the night before. We simply consummated before the wedding. And it’s not like we haven’t consummated a thousand times before”

“Even then, make sure to leave us some free time to consummate as much as we want” Sam warned him, trying to sound serious as he pointed his finger right at Blaine’s face to make more of an impression.

“Ok, but only because you insist” Blaine relented with a mischievous smile, grabbing Sam’s finger out of his face but keeping their hands together.

“Oh, thanks for your generosity”

“Anytime, love”

“You still owe me a consummation, though”

“Oh my God, stop it already” Blaine complained with a shake of his head, even if he kept grinning under his nose.

“I’m going to the bathroom” Sam suddenly said.

“If you’re expecting me to follow you so we become members of the mile high club you’ve got another thing coming” Blaine joked as he bit on his pen.

“I was just going to take a leak, but glad to know you’re thinking about that” Sam answered with a mischievous wink.

“What do you want me to think after all that _consummating_ conversation?” Blaine complained, and Sam thought he couldn’t be more adorable when he noticed his faint blushing at coming out as a pervert.

“Well, you know where I’ll be if you change your mind” Sam reminded him, kissing his husband in the corner of his mouth before standing up.

“Yeah, keep dreaming” Blaine murmured, still embarrassed, as Sam laughed wholeheartedly at him while walking away.

When he was back, he immediately noticed Blaine was still with his notebook, though he wasn’t writing anymore but deeply engrossed in some scribbling activity Sam couldn’t identify.

“And what are you doing now?” Sam asked as he resumed his seat next to his husband. Blaine couldn’t be still for a second, right?

“I’m trying to find a new signature that works for me” Blaine explained, not lifting his gaze from the paper as he continued scribbling.

“Why?” Sam insisted with a confused frown.

“Because I happened to change my name very recently, you know? I need a new signature” Blaine explained, still so deeply engaged on his project that he missed the adoring smile on Sam’s face when he understood.

“Oh my God, you just get sweeter and sweeter every day, don’t you?” Sam asked as he gently grabbed Blaine’s chin and forced him towards him just so he could tenderly kiss his lips. “Marry me”

“I just did” Blaine answered with a shrug of shoulders and a smile that melted Sam’s heart.

“Oh right” Sam answered reciprocating his smile and kissing him again more deeply this time.

“Listen, I… I’ve been wanting to tell you something” Blaine suddenly said, kind of shyly, which totally surprised his husband.

“Wow, it sounds serious” Sam joked, even if he was a bit worried at the change in the light mood they had been sharing until then.

“It is” Blaine answered, although he made sure to give his husband a wide smile to let him know everything was alright.

“What’s up then?” Sam asked, a little relieved but still curious.

“I just… wanted to thank you” Blaine started, kind of hesitantly.

“Thank me? For what?”

“Now that you’ve become my husband and this new phase in our lives is opening for us… I needed to thank you for being the most wonderful boyfriend anyone could ask for all this time”

“What?” Sam asked in surprise, as he hadn’t expected something like that –and he didn’t like it when Blaine made it look like as if he had saved his life or something–. “Blaine, I don’t even want to hear that, I’ve just…”

“Please, let me finish for once, it’s important to me” Blaine pleaded, gently resting a finger on Sam’s lips to quiet him.

“Alright” Sam relented against his will, but just because he couldn’t deny Blaine anything.

“I’m going to get intense for a second, okay?” Blaine warned him with a smile that Sam immediately reciprocated.

“If you really need to…”

“I don’t think I could have survived some of the things that happened this last year if it hadn’t been for you” Blaine stated after a long and deep sigh.

“Of course you would have, you’re so strong” Sam immediately contradicted him, as Blaine had been expecting him to do, so he was prepared.

“But it’s you where I get my strength from” Blaine refuted him. “No one would have stayed by my side like you did, you know? No one would have supported me like you’ve always done, not letting me fall even for a second. You had to go through a lot of crap just because of me, and never once you complained about it. You’re my hero, Sam” Blaine insisted, his voice shaking with emotion that immediately mirrored in Sam’s heart, so he picked Blaine’s hand in his to connect them more deeply. “Because even if it was probably the worst year of my life, at the same time it was the best one because I got to share it with you. And even when everything was so difficult, you were still there for me, putting up with me through all the shit. And for that I need to thank you”

“But sweetheart, it wasn’t difficult for me at all” Sam explained, kissing the back of Blaine’s hand. “You make loving you so easy, you don’t need to thank me for anything”

“But…”

“Now you’ve got to let me finish, you know, it would only be the right thing to do” Sam joked, trying to lighten the mood, and he was glad when he elicited a chuckle from his husband.

“I’m sorry” Blaine apologized with an embarrassed smile.

“Blaine, I’m very aware of how we haven’t had an easy year, all in all, especially you. But I look back at us from the moment when we took the step to be together and… I wouldn’t change a thing” Sam explained with all the honesty in his heart. “Do I wish I could have spared you from some of the things you were forced to go through? Well, obviously. But not for me, not because I _had_ to be at your side or take care of you or _put up with you_ , as you said. I really mean it, B, be there for you it’s not a duty for me, it’s not something that I have to _stand_ if I want to be with you. It’s just one of the wonderful parts of being with you, as good and wonderful as any other. You’re the love of my life, Blaine, and I will always, always, do whatever it takes for you to be alright. For us to be happy. And I don’t want you to thank me for that, because you do the same for me, each and every day of your life, even if you can’t get it through that thick head of yours”

“I would do anything to make you happy, Sammy” Blaine promised as he jumped to embrace him in a rush of affection.

“I know” Sam acknowledged as he lovingly ran his hands up and down all across Blaine’s back in a comforting gesture while in their embrace. “And do you know what the funniest thing is? You don’t need to do anything else to make me happy. You already made me the happiest man alive when you said _I do_ ”

“And I would say it a thousand times more” Blaine said before capturing Sam’s lips in a slow kiss than lingered. “Everything is just too perfect now, though, you know? Like… it’s too good to be true”

“It’s not. It’s what we deserve, B. We really do. And listen, there is absolutely nothing standing in our way anymore, you hear me? No regrets and not failed dreams, ok? Absolutely nothing. We’re together, we have everything and everyone we need and lots of dreams to fulfill. From now on, we’re only going to be happy, ok?”

Blaine nodded while giving Sam the smile the latter knew was reserved only for him, and then he rested his head on Sam’s shoulder and linked his arm with the other’s, unable to stay physically away from him even when they fell in a comfortable silence that was only broken when Sam kissed the top of his head.

Blaine was close to nodding off again when Sam suddenly broke the silence and scared him fully awake.

“Oh my God!” Sam exclaimed.

“What?” Blaine asked in confusion.

“I just remember we own a car now and got a little emotional at it” Sam said in such a serious tone that it took Blaine a couple of seconds before he burst out laughing at his nonsense.

“You’re such an idiot” Blaine commented between laughs.

“Yeah, but I’m _your_ idiot” Sam predictably answered as he lifted his hand right in front of Blaine’s nose. “See this shiny thing on my finger?”

“Oh my God, are you going to show it to me every time I accuse you of being a nuisance?”

“Absolutely”

“Alright” Blaine surrendered with a shrug of his shoulders, and kissed Sam’s cheek –as the latter laughed– before resuming his position on the crook of Sam’s neck, his absolute favorite place in the Earth.

**********                            

_Several years later_

“B, do you know where my tie is?” Sam loudly asked from their shared bedroom as Blaine gave the final touches to his hair in front of the mirror in their bathroom.

“It’s on the chair, I just left it ready for you” Blaine answered, equally loud so his husband could hear him.

“Oh my God, I forgot to iron the shirt!” Sam yelled in terror, and Blaine had to chuckle at his very chaotic husband.

“I did it for you, honey, it’s hanging in the wardrobe” he answered, more softly this time as said husband, still shirtless and sexy as ever, appeared behind him.

“You’re an angel, have I ever told you that?” Sam said as he came behind his husband and circled his waist with his arms, his hungry lips immediately finding the soft skin of the shorter one’s neck.

“Yeah, once or twice along the years” Blaine answered, sighing with contentment as Sam expertly found a soft spot on the side of his neck.

“Well, that’s because you are”

“I’m not, I just knew your head would be on other things and you’d forget about it”

“And you took care of me, as always”

“Of course” Blaine answered as he turned around in their embrace to look at the blond. “Anything for my man. Whom I’m so proud, by the way”

“Really?” Sam asked, his lips breaking into a smile on their own accord.

“Well, of course I am! You’re so talented!” Blaine exclaimed, running his hands all along the soft skin on Sam’s sturdy arms –something which he would never get tired of–.

“I wish I was as confident in me as you are”

“Are you nervous?”

“I am” Sam admitted with a sigh. “It’s the first time I’m exhibiting my paintings”

“It’s not, honey” Blaine reminded him as he ran his knuckles along Sam’s cheek in a comforting gesture. “Your art has been a part of a hundred exhibitions before, and you know everybody loved it. In fact, they loved it so much that this time you’re getting your own exhibition. Just you! In the big apple! That is a big deal”

“Is that supposed to make me feel less nervous?” Sam joked, amused and incredibly moved by his husband’s enthusiasm and support.

“I’m sorry, love, I’m just so excited… But relax, it’s going to be great, and you know it. You’re so talented…” Blaine said with the biggest smile as he took a couple of seconds to just look at his husband, whom just seemed to get more and more handsome with time, before capturing his lips in a kiss.

“Ugh, I love you so much!” Sam exclaimed as he threw his arms more strongly around the smaller man and held him to his chest.

“I love you more” Blaine answered, not missing the chance to play that ridiculous game they had been playing for so many years.

“No way” Sam protested before going for another kiss that got interrupted by a loud voice coming from the other end of the corridor.

“Daddy! I finished washing my teeth and I’m already in bed! I’m ready now!”

“Duty calls” Blaine jokingly lamented as he rested his forehead against his husband’s cheek for a sweet second. “You finish getting ready, I’ll tuck Jay into bed and then we can get going”

“You look gorgeous tonight, by the way” Sam casually commented, this time being he the one to contemplate his husband as if he was a work of art, to which Blaine visibly blushed.

“Not as much as you” Blaine replied, trying to get the attention off him, and once again he went for his partner’s lips as if he couldn’t get enough of him.

“Daddy! Did you hear me?” Jason insisted from his room.

“Yes, sweetie, I heard you, I’m coming!” Blaine answered in a loud voice so his son would hear him, trying not to chuckle at his opportunism, before turning to his husband again. “Don’t be long”

“I wouldn’t dream of keeping you waiting” Sam answered as he watched his husband disappear towards their son’s room and he started buttoning his shirt.

As promised, Jason was already in bed, anxiously waiting for him in his Spiderman pajamas. Blaine couldn’t help but to smile at him: he was not even four years old yet and he was already intelligent and mischievous enough to have his parents in constant alert to keep him out of trouble –though he compensated it being the funniest and most loving child they had ever met.

“So are you ready for bed now, Jay?” Blaine asked as he picked a toy from the floor and left it on his son’s bedside table. The baby-sitter who was going to take care of him for the night was already at the living room, but Blaine and Sam always preferred to put Jason to bed themselves if it was possible.

“Do you really have to go?” Jay asked, not for the first time, and Blaine sat on the bed with a sigh, perching on the headboard so the child could nestle against his chest, which he immediately did.

“Yes, sweetie, you know we have to” Blaine answered as he squeezed his son more strongly to him. “This is very important to Papa’s job and I have to be there for him”

“And can’t Uncle Cooper stay with me? Or Uncle Seb?” Jay asked, his eyes full of an innocence that reminded Blaine so much to Sam’s that it was almost painful.

“No, because they need to be there for Papa too” Blaine tried to make his son understand. “It’s very important for him. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do” Jason finally relented, sounding much more mature that what was expected at his age.

“But you don’t have to worry, Sunshine. You go to sleep now and Papa and I will be here when you wake up”

“Promise?”

“Promise”

“But can Iron and Cap sleep with me today at least?” Jay pleaded, giving his daddy his best version of puppy eyes that he had learnt from him, so Blaine obviously couldn’t refuse.

“Ok, but only today, understood?” Blaine surrendered with a warning, before snapping his fingers for the two dogs that were lying on the carpet to get them on the bed with their favorite person of the house. “Come on, boys. Come on, jump here”

“And… can you read me a story before you go?”

“Of course, honey! Whichever one you want”

“What about… the one with the red dragon?” Jason unsurprisingly suggested, as it was his favorite book that week and couldn’t get enough of it.

“As you wish” Blaine answered as he picked the book from the nightstand and opened it on his lap so they both could look at it.

As usually happened, they immediately got completely lost in the story, with Blaine making all the different voices as Jason looked adoringly at him. Normally both Blaine and Sam would read his bed-time story for their son together and take turns fooling around, but Blaine knew that this night Sam had a lot on his head –and he still needed to finish getting ready–, so he took on such an important duty on his own. Not that Sam had agreed to that, of course, and he furtively walked into the room and leant against the door unnoticed, so absorbed in the story the other two were.

As whenever he got to watch Blaine and Jason interacting with each other, Sam felt a sweet warmth spreading through his chest that never failed to remind him how lucky he was. From the moment they adopted Jason more than three years ago, a day didn’t pass by when he didn’t thank the universe for Blaine and the wonderful family they were starting together, which was about to get bigger very soon when their second child would finally be home once all the adoption stages were over and done with.

Sam was taken out of his reverie when Blaine made an especially ridiculous impression of the dragon, so he couldn’t help but laugh along with his son and was finally discovered.

“What?” Blaine asked with a slightly embarrassed smile when he noticed his husband leaning against the door, his heart melting instantly at the adoring smile on Sam’s face as he observed them.

“Nothing. I was just contemplating my two loves being adorable together” Sam honestly answered, sharing a knowing smile with his husband.

“There are four of us here, Papa” Jason protested, signaling at the dogs, who were already sleeping at his feet.

“Ok, sorry, my four loves” Sam corrected himself with a chuckle.

“When the new baby comes she will be your love too, Papa?” Jason curiously asked.

“Of course. I’ve got lots of love to give” Sam explained. “Even if a hundred babies came along they would still be my loves. What do you say, Jay, do you want a hundred brothers and sisters?”

“I don’t think so” Jason answered, after jokingly pretending to think for a while –something he had obviously learnt from Sam, Blaine thought with a fond smile.

“Let’s see how we do with one first, then” Sam suggested, chuckling at his son.

“Papa, will you read the story with us? Daddy can’t really do the dragon”

“Excuse me?” Blaine protested, pretending to be offended. “That’s what I get after giving the best of myself?”

“But it’s the truth, daddy. You do a great princess, though” Jason hurried to add, not wanting his daddy to feel bad.

“Wow, thanks” Blaine answered sarcastically as Sam laughed wholeheartedly.

“Well, let’s fix that already. Make some room for me” Sam said as he sat at Jason’s other side and threw his arm around Blaine so the three of them were connected in the embrace.

And as they did almost every night, Blaine and Sam became a big show, reciting and inventing half the lines of the story while Jason tried to keep up with their silliness until he irremediably fell asleep in the middle of the chaos.

“He’s asleep now” Blaine pointed out after a while as he noticed Jason’s head falling completely on his chest.

“We should get going then” Sam answered as he took his son into his arms and positioned him more comfortably on the bed, efficiently tucking him and bending over to kiss his forehead as Blaine switched off the main light of the room and left only a small light connected to the socket in case he woke up in the middle of the night.

“Good night, sweetheart” Blaine whispered as he also kissed their son and moved to the door, only to find Sam standing still there, looking at the child with the fondest expression on his face.

“I can’t stop looking at him when he sleeps” he whispered, his tender gaze moving from his son to his husband. “He curls just like you”

“Please, he is the spitting image of you, he imitates everything you do” Blaine contradicted him, letting Sam’s arm come around him and embrace him to his side.

“He’s such a smart kid” Sam joked, and he didn’t even try to avoid Blaine’s playful punch to his chest.

“I’m sure he’ll be a great big brother, just as you are” Blaine whispered, his gaze falling on their sleeping son again.

“Well, we will know very soon, right?” Sam replied, not able to hide the happiness that thought awoke on him. “He will be a great big brother if our little princess is not an obnoxious little sibling as you are!”

“I knew Cooper moving to New York for his TV show and spending that much time around couldn’t be good” Blaine lamented with a shake of his head.

“Please, you couldn’t be happier about it” Sam commented as he took advantage of the arm he had around his husband to start pushing him out of the room.

“You know me too well” Blaine replied as he put his own arm around Sam’s waist. “And now let’s get going, my very talented and successful husband is presenting his first solo exhibition tonight, did you know that?”

“Oh, is he?” Sam played along with him as they got out of the house and walked across their garden towards the car. “Then you two must make a really good couple”

“Oh, please, I can’t compete with him” Blaine modestly answered, and thankfully he was quick enough to avoid Sam ruffling his head.

“Oh really? And where did you say you were going to put the Tony Award all the critics say you’re going to get from your Hedwig? Next to your golden record for your second album, you said?”

“You’re such an idiot!” Blaine exclaimed with a laugh as they separated to get into the car.

“Yes, but I’m your idiot. Do you see…?” Sam started lifting his hand in front of him as they both climbed into the car, but Blaine wouldn’t even let him finish.

“Yes, I can see you ring, stop it already!” he jokingly protested as Sam’s hearty laughter accompanied the sound of the car starting and his hand curled around his.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, that's it! It's over! I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry *cries anyway*
> 
> Now seriously, this is it. I really really hope you liked the ending (I was going to add a scene on the gallery with them talking to the press and everything, but I thought this last scene fitted the plot and their relationship better). I wanted to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone reading all this nonsence, especially those who have taken the time to review one chapter after the other, you're the ones that kept me going!
> 
> Now, to answer a question some of you made, I'm not leaving Blam yet. I've got some stories ready to try (including a OS in this time arch), so you're not getting rid of me just yet. I'm not going to continue with this series linearly (not going to write about the future), but I'm not opposed to writing little things about other points of the story. What I mean with that is that if there is someone who would like to see some thing mentioned on the whole series more developed, something that already happened but we never got to see it, please let me know! I would gladly give it a thought! I'm not asking for prompts for other stories (I've got lots of things to write!), just for these series because I'm still not ready to really say goodbye. So that's it, this is your chance if there was something you would have liked to see ;)
> 
> And that's it. I'm so going to miss you, guys! Thanks for everything!


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